The Drunk and the Hime: Next Generation
by Brii-sama
Summary: They fell in love, they got married, and they had a daughter. What's next? Their daughters story. Sequel to The Drunk, the Hime, and the Child. Completed.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or it's characters. I do own all the OCs in here.

A/N: I really have no idea where I'm going with this. Right now, I'm making it up as I go along, so please work with me. If you have any ideas, I'm listening. I may come up with something on my own, or I may not. Anywho. This story's mostly about Aiji, Hana and Irihi. It's still widely based on Neji and Lee, but we're shifting perspective some.

Warnings: Yaoi, yuri, mpreg, violence, swearing, sex, so on and so forth.

'_Flashback Thoughts'_

_Normal thoughts._

**Chapter One: Doko Warera Sasoku Ofu! Za Yoha Tame Za Yoha! (Where We Left Off! The Sequel to the Sequel!)**

Shikamaru looked up at his class. It was smaller than it had been five years ago, and now everyone there wore a Konoha headband. Inwardly, he grinned happily.

_Naruto, you really ought to see how proud your kids look. You too, Neji._

Irihi wore her headband around her neck like a collar while Sasuke wore his over his forehead. Hana's was used as a headband, much like how Sakura had used hers. All three were indeed proud, and they had their own way of showing it. Aiji was slouched in his seat, a dark brooding aura surrounding him. A small smile tickled his lips, but that was it. Irihi tried to look nonchalant, but she absolutely glowed. Hana, sitting next to her, was the same. She stared at her hands, a small smile played over her features, though she was afraid to show it. The other children babbled continually. Kisho, Shikamaru's son, slept. Kane chattered with her girlfriends while Takai played with his new puppy, Tsume. Tsume looked an awful lot like a black wolf cub. It's ears stood up and it's bushy tail wagged back and forth.

_Fun._

"All right, all right, settle down! I'm assigning teams now, so quit chatting." The children (almost) immediately sat down and quieted. The Brown-Nosers (sucks up) looked at him eagerly, smiles all over their faces. The Delinquents (Takai and a few other brats) slouched in their seats and looked bored.

"Before I assign teams, I would like to (am required to) congratulate you all on graduating from the academy. Now don't get your hopes too high. It's not my decision if you stay genin or you are sent back to the academy. The teachers I assign you to will put you through a test and decide whether or not-" One brat raised her hand excitedly. Shikamaru paused to remind himself that some _other_ teacher would have to deal with the failures.

"Yes, Ayame." The girl gave a big bubbly smile.

_I don't have to deal with them anymore, I don't have to deal with them anymore, I don't have to deal with them anymore, I don't have to deal with them anymore, I don't have to…_

"Shikamaru-sensei, does this mean some of us won't pass?"

"Yes." _And I won't have to teach you if you fail! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

Ayame pulled her face into a pout and stuck out her lower lip, making it look bigger than it actually was.

"But that's not fair!"

_Life's not fair. Deal._ "They're just the rules. Anyway, on to the-" Ayame raised her hand again.

"…Teams." _Stupid brat! Shut up so I can call out the teams and get the Hell out of here!_

Kisho looked like he shared the same sentiments. He had been propping his head up with his hands. When Ayame raised her hand the first time, he had sighed. When she did a second time, he led his head fall on the table with a loud thunk and covered it with his arms.

"Yes, Ayame." The girl gave another smile.

"Do you believe it's possible…" She tried to blush cutely. Shikamaru inwardly flinched and cast a look at Aiji. He looked ready to do one of three things: a) spontaneously combust on the spot, b) duck under the desk for cover, or c) leap out the conveniently open window to escape. Ayame began to speak again.

"…For love to overcome all obstacles?" Here, almost the entire female half of the class looked at Aiji with a dreamy look. Irihi set her face to 'Super Glare of Super Doom and Death' and turned it on all of them. They were unfazed and sighed dreamily at Aiji. Kisho groaned into his arms. One girl suddenly leapt up.

"Love _can_ overcome all obstacles! I will be in the same team as Aiji-kun!" Aiji sunk into his seat. Shikamaru tried not to cry.

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I was supposed to be_ gone _by now! Fight over him later! I'm_ begging you!

"Nu-uh! _I'm_ going to be in Aiji-kun's group!"

"No, I am!"

"I am!"

"I'm the best in the class! Next to Aiji-kun of course!" Kisho began to hit his head repeatedly into the table. Takai made a face and began playing with Tsume again. Aiji began to sink down in his chair further as the rest of the male class glared death at him. Suddenly, the door opened and a familiar blonde poked his head in.

"Are you all being good for Shikamaru-san?" The children instantly raced back to their seats (the ones who had gotten up) and chorused.

"Yes Hokage-sama!" Naruto smiled in approval and glanced at Shikamaru. The Academy teacher mouthed 'thank you'.

_The Hokage saves the day! Hallelujah!_

Closing the door behind him, Naruto stepped in and began to speak.

"You shouldn't fight over who you _want_ to be in your team, but learn to get along with who _is_ in your team." Ayame raised her hand and Kisho pretended to strangle her. Shikamaru did it in his head.

"But Hokage-_sama_! What if you _really hate_ who's on your team?" Naruto gave Shikamaru a sympathetic grin. He knew this was going to take longer than the teacher wanted. The lazy nin shrugged and nodded slightly. The blonde turned back to the class and gave a small grin.

"I'm sure all of you know my husband, Sasuke." Everyone nodded.

"When I graduated, Sasuke and I were on the same team and we hated each other. We fought and argued so much we almost gave our sensei a permanent migraine. But we learned to accept each other and became friends. And…nevermind, you know the rest. Moral of the story: life sucks dirty canal water through a bent straw. Learn to deal." Shikamaru felt a grin tickle his lips.

_That's Naruto. Talking in words everyone can understand._

Everyone seemed to absorb the information and commit it to memory. Out of the corner of his eye, Shikamaru noticed Kisho sitting up a bit to listen. Naruto had an air about him that made people listen.

_Konoha's finest Hokage yet._

"Now behave and let Shikamaru read off the teams."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. Now then. Team One…" He listed off the teams before coming to the one he didn't want to read off. It had his own son and he knew Kisho wasn't going to like it.

"Team Six: Nara Kisho, Yamanaka Kane, and Inuzuka Takai." There was another thud as Kisho let his head fall back onto his desk. Takai leapt up, Tsume sitting on his head.

"_The Uchiha fangirl!_" It took Shikamaru two seconds to remember Naruto had in fact changed his last name to Uchiha. Kane leapt up.

"_Who are you calling a fangirl, you freaky dog weirdo! I am Aiji-kun's one true love!_" Sighing, Shikamaru scratched his head.

"_Maa_, where have I seen this before?" Aiji sunk further into his seat. Irihi grumbled something that Shikamaru didn't hear, but heard parts of: 'morons' 'controlled' 'hormones' 'loud' 'obnoxious' '_death_'.

"Can I get on with the teams?" The two reluctantly took their seats while Kisho sent a pleading look at Naruto. The blonde shook his head and mouthed 'I Owe You'. Clearing his throat, Shikamaru returned to reading the teams.

"Team Seven: Uchiha Aiji, Uchiha Irihi, and Hyuuga Hana."

"_NO! THIS CANNOT BE!_" Shikamaru felt all sorts of giddy as the girls in the class began to mourn. Aiji looked relieved, Irihi looked indifferent and Hana ducked to avoid the glares being sent her way, taking refuge under the desk. Ayame suddenly leapt up. She looked angry and hurt that her 'favorite-est teacher in the whole wide world' (she'd actually called him this once) had 'betrayed' her so.

"You're just putting Irihi-baka in the same group as Aiji-kun because she's his stupid sister!" Shikamaru gave her a few seconds to realize two things: Irihi's mother/father was in the room and was the Hokage. She didn't. Irihi snorted and looked up at Ayame.

"You moron. They put me in the same group as my brother because I'm the only one in the room who doesn't go ga-ga every time I see him." Ayame tried to ruffle Irihi She-Who-Doesn't-Feel-Like-Being-Ruffled before switching to Hana. Before she could say anything bad about her, Irihi hit her with a textbook. Naruto shook his head.

"That's enough, both of you. Irihi, don't hit people with textbooks." She held up her bag.

"Or bags. Ayame, what did I say about teams?" The girl pouted again.

"Sorry Hokage-sama." Naruto nodded and turned to the rest of the class.

"Everyone, Irihi's right. That is why we put them together. Hana is in the group as well to stop them from killing each other." Both Irihi and Aiji opened their mouths to argue, but Naruto sent them a I-Am-MOM-Do-As-I-Say look. They slouched in their seats simultaneously and refused to look at each other. Hana had resurfaced and looked happy that she was with her friends.

"Team Eight: Kyoto Haru, Sato Ayame, and Mie Mamoru." Haru, a rather well behaved boy, sunk in his seat. Mamoru was a Delinquent and had to voice his opinion.

"I don't want to be with an ugly girl like Ayame!" That was the downfall of the class. The kids began screaming at each other and chasing each other. Shikamaru threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"What the Hell did I do to deserve this!" Naruto watched the destruction, noting that someone made the mistake of falling on Irihi. She would have flung them out the window if Hana hadn't needed her help.

"…Oh dear." Irihi was beating the living daylights out of someone who had tried to hurt Hana. The Hyuuga was smart and took refuge behind the Hokage. Aiji hid underneath Shikamaru's desk, muttering something about evil rabid fangirls.

"ENOUGH." All eyes turned to Sabaku no Gaara. On his face was a clear I-Haven't-Had-Coffee-Yet-And-I'm-Cranky look. Naruto smiled as the grumpy redhead wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek.

"Morning hon."

"Nnn." Shikamaru managed to get through the rest of the teams without any disturbances. It was due to the fact that Gaara's powers were legendary. Finally, they were dismissed. Naruto and Gaara left to go tell the jounin they could pick up their teams now. As they walked down the hall. Gaara glanced at Naruto.

"The mission went well." Naruto smiled happily.

"Extremely. I'm very happy with Neji and Lee."

"Where are they now?"

"They said there was something else they needed to do."

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Neji purred into Lee's chest. His husband smiled and shifted so that the brunette was a bit more comfortable.

"Mm. Hana should be home soon."

"Purrrrr…"

"We should clean up some."

"Purrrrr…"

"I wonder what team she got on?"

"Purr-shut up Lee-rrr…" Chuckling, Lee kissed Neji's forehead and wrapped his arms around the male gently.

"Guess we can stay like this for a few more minutes."

"Purrrrr…" There was silence (minus Neji's purring) for a while before they kissed and began trying to untangle themselves from the blankets. In an attempt to help, Lee frustrated Neji who, in the process of batting him away, fell off the bed. The sheets went with him and he squeaked as he was buried under the cloth. Crawling to the side of the bed, Lee looked down.

"Neji-koi? Are you okay?"

"…I've fallen and I refuse to get up."

"Should I help you?"

"No. I like it here. Will crawl out for food and possibly coffee." Rolling his eyes, Lee shook his head and grinned. Neji was rather lazy right after sex, he had discovered. This was fine by him. It meant cuddling with the pretty Hyuuga until they had to get up. Upon locating his boxers, Lee pulled them on and went to the door.

"I'll go make coffee."

"Mm…coffee…"

"Would you like anything in it?"

"…Sugar…cream…coffee…" Laughing, Lee went to make coffee. It would take Neji a few minutes to get his brain back together and untangle from all the bed sheets. He made the coffee and brought some to Neji, whom was attempting to untangle himself from the clinging blankets. He paused for coffee and then started his quest once more, this time succeeding. After that, they readjusted the sheets on the bed and began to search for the rest of their clothes. Neji crawled under the bed to retrieve Lee's spandex uniform and his sock. Lee climbed on top of the bed to get Neji's shirt off the ceiling fan. Once they were dressed, they straightened the room until it looked like nothing had happened.

"Hana should be home soon." Lee checked the clock and nodded.

"It's almost three o'clock. She should have been home over an hour ago." Motherly instincts told Neji to be worried. He gave Lee an alarmed look.

"Don't worry. It's because Kakashi-sensei is their teacher." That didn't make Neji feel better.

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Irihi checked the clock and growled in frustration.

"He should have been here three hours ago! That lazy moron." Aiji grunted in agreement. Hana, usually patient and kind (something she got from Hinata) was a little ruffled.

"He could at least _try_ to be on time. He's probably asleep."

"Or unconscious." Aiji jumped straight into the conversation.

"Because he was attacked by blue monkeys." Hana, used to the game by now, smiled and added her own piece.

"From Suna." Irihi said the first thing that went though her head.

"And they kidnapped him." Aiji's lips quirked into a grin.

"For sacrifice." Hana thought for a second.

"To the bananas." Irihi giggled.

"Of polka dots." Grabbing a piece of chalk, Hana drew a giant banana in a polka dot robe. Worshipping it were monkeys and tied on a circle was a jounin, his eyes X's. They laughed. Grinning, Irihi grabbed the eraser and balanced it so that when Kakashi opened the door, it would fall on his head. Hana tried to withhold her giggles while Aiji rolled his eyes.

"Like he'd fall for that." At that exact second, Kakashi opened the door and the eraser fell on his head. The three genin stared at him.

"_Maa_? What's this?" He picked up the eraser and suddenly remembered when Naruto had pulled the exact same trick on him. He looked at the group and could almost see his first team overlapping them. Hana was more controlled than Sakura, but she still had the fighting spirit deep inside her eyes. Aiji looked so much like his father it was scary. The only thing that kept Kakashi from calling him Sasuke was the whisker marks on each cheek. Like Naruto, both twins had been born with them. Irihi, meanwhile, looked a bit like Gaara. Her red hair was kept shoulder length, tied back in a short ponytail. Her eyes, while colored like Gaara's, didn't have black rings around them (and she had eyebrows and no "love" symbol on her left temple. She also has pupils). Her attitude was most decidedly Naruto's.

"Lets see…my first impression of you is…I don't like you!" Hana flinched slightly while Aiji snorted. His calm demeanor in place, he refused to care. Irihi, on the other hand, crossed her arms and looked straight at Kakashi.

"Yeah? So what? My first impression of you is you're a lazy moron who's too scared to show his face and fell for the stupidest and oldest trick in the book." Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow.

_Well well. Looks like I have a little macho already._

"_Are_, you're just like your mother." That surprised Irihi, but she still didn't back off. Internally, Kakashi chuckled. He could see Naruto's stubbornness.

_That's my little macho._ "Well, lets go. I don't think we're allowed to hold meeting places in the classrooms." The three followed, Aiji strolling casually behind Hana, who stood beside Irihi. They were silent, probably sizing Kakashi up.

_Oh, this is going to be fun._

They arrived at the bridge, Kakashi's old meeting place.

"All right, tell me your names and something about yourselves." _Please tell me Aiji's not going to be an Avenger._

"My name is Hyuuga Hana and my dream is to become a medical nin." That surprised Kakashi. It was rather easy to be a medical nin. He had been expecting something a little more grandiose, but she seemed to know exactly what she wanted to be. Irihi seemed just as curious, but trusted her friend and didn't comment.

"I'm Uchiha Irihi and my only dream is to learn to control the Saburetenma that lives inside me." That threw off Kakashi.

_Okay…this is new…I hadn't realized Gaara and Naruto had passed on their demons to their children. No wait…Gaara's demon is the Shukaku. Is this a new demon?_

"_Maa_, what about you?" Aiji glanced at his sister before answering in a low voice.

"Uchiha Aiji. I want to control the power of the demon that resides within me, like Irihi." Kakashi scratched the back of his head and his visible eye smiled.

"_Maa_, those are pretty big dreams." _Holy_ shit! _I didn't know they_ both _had demons!_ _Teaching them is going to be absolute Hell!_

The jounin made a mental note to ask Naruto about it later. Gaara too if he was around and not cranky. God help the soul that bothered a cranky Gaara.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, and I'll be your sensei…if you pass my test." This piqued their interests. Even the interest of He-Who-Cannot-Bothered-To-Be-Interested. Hana was the first to recover. Like her mother, she was a bit cautious.

"Test? What kind of test?" Crinkling his visible eye into an upside down U, Kakashi portrayed his glee.

"You'll find out tomorrow!"

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Naruto looked up from his paperwork as Kakashi entered.

"Hello Hatake-san."

"Hokage-sama." The silver-haired jounin closed the door behind him and stood in silence, watching his former student. Looking back, he realized something. When Naruto first told him he was going to be Hokage, he hadn't believed him.

**Semi-Flashback**

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever!" Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Sakura rolled her eyes and Sasuke 'hned'.

"_Really now?" The blonde nodded. Sakura began to tell Naruto how dumb he was while Sasuke ignored everyone._

'_This kid really thinks he can be Hokage? When he barely even knows the basics? Like that'll ever happen.'_

**End Semi-Flashback**

_But you showed me wrong, Naruto. You showed everyone you could and did become Hokage. I'm proud of you._

"_Ne_, Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong?" The jounin jerked out of his thoughts and shook his head.

"Nothing. I just came to tell you about Team Seven." Naruto nodded, keeping all emotion from his face. However, Kakashi noticed how subtly he put down his pen.

"Hana reminds me a lot of Sakura. She's not as loud and annoying, and she does have a small crush on Aiji, but she has more of a crush on Irihi. She's serious about what she does and she said she wants to be a medical nin. Aiji…well, minus the whiskers, he pretty much a carbon copy of Sasuke. When I first found out who was on my squad, I figured he'd be a little macho, due to the fact that he's the only guy. But Irihi seems to have taken that role. She's a lot like you in that sense. When I told them my first impression of them, she crossed her arms and called me a, I quote this, 'lazy moron who's too cowardly to show his face and fell for the stupidest and oldest trick in the book'." Naruto's lips twitched into a smile and he looked down to hide it. Kakashi watched him for a second before asking the question that had been burning in his mind since his meeting with the squad.

"Naruto, about Aiji and Irihi…" Naruto looked up at Kakashi. He knew the question, but Kakashi had to ask it anyway.

"Do they have the Shukaku and the Kyuubi?" There was a _long_ bought of silence between them. Naruto's blue eyes shut off all emotions and Kakashi recognized the look. Some kids in the village had gone too far in insulting Naruto once. They had called him a scarred freak and a _murderer._ Naruto had been hurt at the 'freak' comment, but when the boys called him a murderer, he shut off. His eyes dimmed and he just stared at the boys with absolutely no emotion. The other teams had been there and Chouji, Kiba and Lee chased the boys off. Ino had been about to comfort Naruto, but he had just sat down and not moved. Kakashi and the other jounin hadn't been there when it happened, but Kakashi remembered the look because Sakura and Hinata came to get them, saying something was wrong with Naruto.

When they got there, the first thing Kakashi saw was Naruto's eyes. There were like two steel walls, like they were now. Kiba took Naruto to his house and said the blonde could stay overnight. The next morning, he was happy and perky, acting as if it never happened. He had the same look.

"Naruto…"

"Hatake-san, please tell the eavesdroppers on the other side of the door to go away." The jounin did as he was told, chasing them off and returning. Naruto had released his barriers some and as soon as the door was closed, he spoke.

"We didn't realize it until a few years ago. I knew a bit of the Kyuubi's power would transfer to them, Gaara knew it would be the same with the Shukaku. What we didn't expect was for different demons to manifest inside of them. Irihi and Aiji have the children of Kyuubi and Shukaku." Without saying it, Kakashi knew exactly what he meant.

_And that's just as bad._

End of Chapter One

**A/N**: Okay, that kind of sucked. But I swear, I'll get to the main plot soon. We'll deal more with Neji, Lee and Hana in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, I think I've got the main plot sculpted out. And since the little intro thingy majigger ba-bopper is done, we can get on with the real story.

**SilverWing129**: Yes, there is in fact going to be more Lee/Neji. Not a ridiculous amount, since this story is mostly about Hana and the NaruSasuGaa children.

**Dark-Princess-Hikari**: I kind of fashioned Hana after Hinata. Hence why she's a bit calmer.

**Chapter Two: Ato Uen Zushiki! Dau Hidoi! (A Devious Scheme! How Awful!)**

Deep in the forest, close to the mountains and far from pretty much all civilization, there is a fortress. Half of it's underground while the other half is disguised using genjutsu. Inside the fortress, in the very center, a hooded figure knelt in front of a statue. He was mumbling words of prayer when another figure opened the doors and jogged in.

"Father! Father!" The man held up one hand and finished his prayer.

"Yes, my son. What is it?" The young man caught his breath before answering.

"We found them." The hooded figure stood and rounded on him, grabbing him by the front of his robe and dragging him closer.

"No mistake?" The young man shook his head rapidly.

"I-it's them! W-we're sure this time!" The hooded figure scrutinized him for a few more seconds before beginning to laugh. He turned to the statue he had been praying to and raised his arms.

"At last! The prophecy shall come true and your bidding shall be done!" As the hooded figure continued to laugh, the statue of a giant, nine-tailed fox demon loomed above them.

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Kakashi watched his students from the safety of a particularly large tree. He had told them the rules of the test and they had instantly gone off in different directions.

_Seeing as how they're friends, I sort of expected them to team up. Ah well. There are a few hours left. I'm sure they'll rack up some positive points._

Leaping down, he began to look for Irihi. He figured she'd end up being the first to attack. His assumptions were dead on. A carefully aimed kunai headed for his head. Still reading Icha Icha Paradise, which he had pulled out not long ago, he carefully avoided it. This started a series of events that caught his interest. The kunai Irihi threw turned into the girl herself. She threw three shuriken at him before activating a smoke bomb and disappearing. Aiji deflected one of the shuriken and sent it spinning towards a rope Hana had disguised with genjutsu. Putting away his book, Kakashi dodged the kunai sent at him by the trap. When he landed, two arms reached out of the ground and grabbed his ankles, holding him still.

_Oh now this is interesting._

Hana came at him, followed by two more of herself.

_Clones. How cute._

The three Hana's turned out to be all clones, used as a distraction. Kakashi, however, already knew this. The real Hana came up behind them, three shuriken in each hand. He was able to deflect them all and use one to hurl at Hana. It hit her square in the forehead and she turned into a log. The ground beneath Kakashi shifted and Irihi leapt up, latching onto his leg.

_What is she-Oh._

She reached up and grabbed one of the bells, yanking it off. Her face curled into one of Naruto's trademark fox grins before she pushed off of him and retreated to a safer distance. Aiji and Hana followed, all three disappearing into the trees.

"…I do believe I've just been outsmarted by a bunch of cocky brats." _I didn't realize it was really Irihi under the ground. She must have been under there for over a minute. Pretty impressive. Then again, she does have a sand demon._

Pulling out Icha Icha Paradise, Kakashi fingered the last bell.

"Very interesting, thought. They managed to get one of the bells. So what will you three do next?" That was answered in an hour when Kakashi fell almost headfirst into a trap.

It started with a rustle from a bush attracting his attention. It turned out to be a white rabbit that, instead of running away, leapt for his face. Seeing through the genjutsu, Kakashi grabbed Hana by the throat and threw her into a tree. She focused her chakra to her feet and landed on the tree safely, springing three traps that did three different things. The first one sent six shuriken at Kakashi; the second one sent three kunai in a completely different direction; the third one set off a flash bomb. The shuriken missed (Kakashi dodged) the kunai set off another trap and Aiji lunged for Kakashi when the flash bomb faded. It took the silver-haired jounin to realize something.

_Where's Irihi?_

When she didn't appear, he began to worry. Grabbing Aiji by the ankle, he dragged him closer until they were face-to-face.

"Aiji, where's Irihi?" The boy wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck and did the most horrible thing.

"Kakashi-sama! You're the best _ever!_"

_The fuck-!_

Hana took his moment of surprise to sew his shoes to the ground with chakra strings and steal the bell. Grabbing her, Kakashi hauled Aiji off his neck.

"Okay, points for the original way of catching me off guard, and points for being able to create chakra strings. Minus points for letting me catch you again." Irihi chose that moment to appear.

What followed could only be explained as a certain amount of chaos. The other jounin (whom had finished) didn't hear the arguing or the screams. They did hear Irihi's war cry (which was _FOR DEATH!_) and they did see the giant fireball erupt from the forest. The fireball was courtesy of Aiji. It was badly aimed, since he hadn't exactly mastered it yet. There was a loud scream, closely followed by a promise of death, closely followed by a second fireball. This one was courtesy of Irihi, whom was also learning it. It wasn't as impressive as her brothers, but it was enough to make Kakashi wish he had never gotten up. There was silence for a long period of time before Hana, Irihi and Aiji, in an attempt to reclaim their bells, accidentally blew up a river. They weren't quite sure how they managed to do it (neither was Kakashi) but they agreed never to do it again. Mostly because it didn't work.

The clock _finally_ went off the three genin trudged back to the log, soaked and charred at the same time. Other than needing new shoes and soaked to the bone, Kakashi was fine. He watched the three collapse in a pile of freezing, burned, hungry and eternally pissed genin.

"I suppose that could have gone better. You three are certainly worse off than my last team when they tried this. Of course, my last team didn't work together." Aiji glared at him. Irihi had taken off her jacket and was squeezing the water out of it while Hana tried to get water from her hair.

"None of you got the bells. But I do have a question: since there are only two bells and three of you, what would you have done if you had gotten the bells?" Irihi snorted and shook her hair out.

"Easy. Hana would have stood in the middle and held both bells while Aiji and me held her hands." The silver-haired jounin felt his lips twitch into a smile.

"I wanted to hear that. And I'm sure there's something you want to hear. You three…" They watched him expectantly.

"…Pass."

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Kurenai, Asuma and the other jounin (along with some Academy teachers, Shikamaru included) waited for Kakashi to appear. All the while, they talked about if he was going to pass his team or not.

"Do you really think he'll fail the Hokage-sama's children?"

"Probably not. I mean, the Hokage was one of his students. One of his _favorite_ students." Shikamaru refused to take part in the conversation. He knew Kakashi didn't give a damn if his students were the kids of God or his own kids. He would fail them if they sucked and pass them if they deserved to pass. Naruto wouldn't punish him for it either. That was how he was. Kurenai shook her head.

"The Hokage-sama's fair. He'd understand." Asuma inhaled on his cigarette and exhaled the smoke.

"He'd be distressed, but he'd get it." Now the lazy nin was getting a bit annoyed.

"You are of course assuming Kakashi-sensei will fail them."

"Come on Shikamaru. Besides the team the Hokage-sama was on, how many teams has he passed?" Everyone knew the answer to _that_. It was zero, zilch, nada, nil. No matter how you looked at it, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were the only students Kakashi ever taught.

"It's always possible." Before anyone could disagree, the door opened and Kakashi stuck his head in.

"Yo." Immediately, everyone hounded him.

"How bad was it?"

"Did they really cause those fireballs?"

"Who screamed death?"

"Are they really demons?"

"Does Hana act like Lee?"

"Why are you wet?"

"What happened?"

"What happened to your shoes?" Shikamaru caught his eyes and, without words, asked the question he was dying to know. Kakashi nodded slightly.

"_Maa_, you people really have nothing better to do. If you really want to know, it wasn't bad, Irihi and Aiji caused the fireballs, that was Irihi's war cry, no, no, they blew up the river, long story and don't ask." Now everyone was on the same question.

"Did they pass?"

"They…" He let the silence drag out a bit before answering.

"Passed." There was a three second pause before an uproar started.

"They _passed!_"

"How could they pass!"

"Are you going soft?"

"How good are they?"

"They're like your old team, aren't they?" Waving them down, Kakashi answered the questions again.

"Yes, they worked together, Hell no, they're better than I expected, and yes. But that's not why I passed them. They're half decent ninja already." Asuma, head of Team Six, snorted.

"Of course they are. Two are the kids of the Hokage."

"That's not what makes them as good as they are." _But I'm not telling you what really makes them that good._

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Neji wrapped his arms around Hana's waist and nuzzled her hair.

"I'm so proud you passed." The girl smiled brilliantly and snuggled into her mother's chest. Lee, sitting behind Neji, wrapped his arms around the both of them. All three were enjoying a relaxing bubble bath together. It was something of a ritual for them. Hana inhaled the scent of her mother and her father. The two overlapped, but managed to stay separate and unique at the same time. Her mother smelled like flowers and spices while her father smelled like wood and berries. Closing her lavender eyes, she let their comfort wrap around her. She must have fallen asleep because she remembered being carried into her bed. Her father was wearing boxers and holding her like a baby. Her father always was strong.

(Switching POVs)

Neji watched as Lee gently laid Hana in her bed and tucked her in, kissing her forehead. Every time Neji looked at Hana, he would see where the Hyuuga curse mark would be if he hadn't married Lee. Every time he saw that, he remembered his own curse mark was still in place. He was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt Lee picking him up and carrying him to their room.

"Hana's asleep. It's time we turn in for the night as well." Nodding, Neji rested his head against Lee's chest and smiled. Every time he thought about his curse mark, he got sad. Every time he got sad, Lee would do something goofy or romantic to make him smile again. One time, Neji had been depressed and Lee walked around wearing bunny ears all day and hopping. Neji's laughed so hard he almost cried. As he was gently laid on the bed, Neji began to wonder what he had done to deserve Lee.

"Neji-koi?"

"Hm?" Lee lay on his stomach next to Neji.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Cocking his head, Neji gently stroked the taller male's head.

"What I did to deserve you." Lee chuckled and began petting Neji's hair.

"Funny. I was thinking the same thing. Course, my thoughts were sort of along the lines 'what in the world did a weirdo like me do to deserve this heavenly angel that is Neji?'" The Hyuuga laughed and moved closer to him, kissing his cheek.

"Lee, you're weird, but I wouldn't have you any other way." Lee smiled.

"Even if it included smaller eyebrows?"

"Okay, screw what anyone else says, I like your eyebrows. And your ridiculous speeches on youth. And your thumb pose and nice guy pose. And your teeth sparklies. I love every bit of you."

"Down to the eyebrows?"

"The eyebrows are more up, but yes. Down to the eyebrows." Lee grinned even more and kissed Neji on the lips.

"And I love every bit of you." The brunette's smile faded and he looked down.

"Even the curse mark?" This took Lee a bit by surprise, but he reached up and removed Neji's headband. The curse mark was a constant reminder that Neji was part of the Branch Family. Leaning forward, he planted a firm kiss on the 'X'.

"Even the curse mark. I think it draws attention to your eyes, which I could stare into for hours on end." He paused and thought.

"No, scratch that. I could stare at all of you for hours on end and not get tired."

"Ever?"

"Ever." Neji smiled a true smile and crawled into Lee's open arms. There were times he needed reassurance from Lee and the bushy-browed male always gave it. As they cuddled, Neji tried to remember a time they had ever fought. They bickered a lot, but it was over silly things like, oh, say, the color of Hana's room. Neji giggled as he remembered it.

"Ne? What is it, Neji-koi?"

"I'm just remembering when we argued over the color of Hana's room. I wanted it to be blue but you wanted it to be green." The taller male grinned.

"Oh yeah. We argued for the longest time and I kept going on and on about youth. Gaara-sama's the one who suggested lavender, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Oh, you know what? I just remembered why I didn't like the green idea!" Lee chuckled.

"Yeah, you said, and I quote, 'No way in _freaking Hell_ are you going to turn her into a _youth-spewing spandex wearing female version of Gai_!'" They both laughed at the memory.

"I'm sorry Lee, but could you imagine a female version of Gai?" Lee laughed again and shook his head.

"Looking back on it, you were right. My first reaction for the longest time was to be Gai-sensei. I'm glad I married you so you could stop me from sculpting her into another youth-obsessed spirit." Grinning, Neji thought of what Hana would be like if she were like Gai.

"Oh, that would have been horrible." Lee pictured it too.

"Yes it would have. Could you imagine if she had drawn on eyebrows?" They both laughed even harder.

"Oh, _God_ no! That would have been awful! Big, uneven things, terrifying everyone who saw her!" Lee laughed again and then thought of something else.

"Oh, what if she turned out like you? She would have this long, drawn-out 'You Are a Loser' speech."

"Oh lord, if she had turned out like me…that would have terrible! I was the _worst_ child anyone could have wanted! She would have been so difficult! Thank _God_ she took after Hinata-sama!"

"Hey, what if she turned out like Kakashi?" And on it went. The two kept laughing hysterically over ideas of their daughter turning out like their friends. It was midnight when they finally calmed down. Lee turned out the light and nuzzled Neji's cheek.

"We should get to sleep." The Hyuuga pouted cutely and looked up at him with adorable eyes.

"Do we have to? Couldn't we stay awake for just a little bit longer to do…_other_ things?" In all his years of living with Neji, Lee had learned something: whenever Neji began pouting, Lee would turn into a total sucker and do anything he asked. Neji discovered his power over the bushy-browed male, but luckily only used it every so often. This was one of those every so often times.

"Well…we _do_ have the day off tomorrow…" And that's how Neji's boxers ended up on the ceiling fan while Lee's boxers ended up on top of the dresser. Hana, whom had been listening outside the door, quickly returned to her room to get some sleep. She knew her parents stayed up late to talk to each other and she loved to listen in. Sometimes they would catch her and she would sleep with them. Other times, they wouldn't and she would get to listen to them until they finally decided to sleep. As she crawled into bed, Hana wondered if she would ever find someone to love like her parents loved each other. An image of Irihi crossed her mind and she blushed, wondering how the demon girl felt about her.

_I wish she loved me as much as I love her…_

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Irihi, meanwhile, was sitting by her window. It was a full moon and she found she could never sleep on these nights. When she asked Gaara, he said that it was because of her demon. On full moons, she wouldn't be able to sleep easily. Looking over her shoulder, Irihi smiled. Aiji was curled up with their baby sister, Gina. The five year-old girl was the cutest little girl in the world. She had big, sky blue eyes and long, silky blonde hair tied into pigtails.

_She's as cute as Hana-chan._

Irihi smiled even more, glad she had such a cool family. Her smile disappeared when a shadow crossed over her brother and sister. Whirling around, she saw a figure standing on her windowsill. He had a large straw hat shading his face, but she could see two red eyes.

_Red like Sasuke-papa's Sharingan…_

There was a loud slam and the figure disappeared just as the door to their bedroom opened. Sasuke, Sharingan activated, glared at the place where the figure had been. Naruto came in behind him and scooped Irihi up, carrying her away. Gina and Aiji, awoken by the sound, looked confused. Gina, still sleepy, rubbed her eyes.

"Mama? What's wrong?" Sitting on the bed, Naruto pulled his children into his lap. Gaara came in next to Sasuke, whom was looking out the window.

"Sasuke."

"It was _him_." Aiji, face pulling into a glower that matched Sasuke's, frowned.

"Who?" Naruto shook his head and rocked the three back and forth.

"Someone bad." At the worried looks on their faces, Naruto smiled happily.

"But don't worry! Your mama and papas will protect you. Okay?" The three nodded obediently and Gina immediately fell asleep. She liked to sleep when it was dark out. Aiji took a bit longer to fall asleep, but soon his eyes drifted shut.

"Irihi? Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I can't sleep on the full moon, Mama." Gaara took her from Naruto and nodded to his wife.

"I'll be back." Carrying Irihi, the redheaded male climbed to the roof of the house and sat her next to him.

"Gaara-papa can't sleep on the night of the full moon either, Irihi. Do you know why?"

"The Shukaku."

"That's right. Do you know why you can't sleep on the full moon?"

"My demon."

"Right. When I was your age, I couldn't sleep at all. I was afraid the demon would eat me if I slept. Be thankful that isn't the same with you. The reason you can't sleep on the full moon is because the demon is more awake and wants to feed."

"Feed on what?" Gaara gave her a careful look before motioning to the village.

"Humans. It wants to feed on humans, Irihi." Irihi looked out over the village, her eyes resting on Hana's house. She shifted chakra towards her eyes and could see the girl sleeping peacefully in her bed. Something in her chest stirred and writhed with pleasure.

"Irihi, listen." Irihi tore her gaze from Hana and looked at her father.

"Don't let it control you. If you do, you could hurt or kill someone close to you."

"Like Mama?"

"Mama, Sasuke-papa, Aiji, Gina, even Hana." That thought made Irihi stiffen and retract into herself. Gaara knew the defensive reflex and began to speak again.

"I wasted a lot of my life killing humans and allowing the Shukaku to feed on their blood. Don't make my mistake. Dominate the demon inside you. Do not take advantage of it. That will end…"

"Only in blood." Gaara nodded and looked back over the city. Watching from a safe distance away, Itachi secretly plotted the abduction of the Hokage children. An equally safe distance away, members of an ancient cult plotted the abduction of their 'saviors'.

End of Chapter Two

A/N: Guh. Horrible. But you're getting an idea of the main plot. Reviews are welcome, as always.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm sick on my break. Merf.

Also: Believe me when I say I've been trying to write this. It's just taking a while because my muse is on vacation. I know what I want to have happen; I just don't know how to get there.

**Dark-Princess-Hikari**: Uh…hadn't really thought about that…I guess he is. And no, she's not fully aware of what the curse is because Neji hasn't really gotten around to telling her about the whole truth about the Hyuuga clan. He hasn't lied about it, but he hasn't told her about it. It's one of those 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' things.

**SilverWing129**: Thank you for the positive reinforcement. I appreciate it and will show my gratitude by writing a third chapter. (Zomg!)

Thanks to everyone who's read the story and thanks to everyone who's replied. I appreciate it.

**Chapter Three: Ara Iie! Abunai Ninnin Ketsubou za Kodomo! (Oh No! Dangerous People Want the Children!)**

"All clear here, Kakashi-sensei."

"Repeat: affirmative."

"Repeat affirmative: affirmative." Kakashi nodded and flipped on his own mike.

"Acknowledgment: affirmative. Proceed."

"_Ossu_!" Turning off his microphone, Kakashi leaned against a tree and waited. The mission was simple enough: capture a wild fox and relocate it away from Konoha. It wasn't that it was hurting anyone. It was stealing chickens from one of the farmers because there wasn't enough to eat. It was about ten minutes later that Hana checked in.

"Nurse checking in: target located."

"Sand girl checking in: target location affirmed."

"Emo prince checking in: target location affirmed as well." Flipping on his mike again, Kakashi pulled out Icha Icha Paradise.

"Affirmative. Proceed." Not a minute later, Irihi's voice rang over the mike.

"Kakashi-sensei, we need your help!"

"What is it?"

"I don't know! These men suddenly attacked us!" Icha Icha Paradise was placed back into Kakashi's bag and he sped off after his students.

_Damn it! This mission was supposed to go smoothly! Find the fox, put it in a crate, relocate it! That was it! Why do people always have to complicate the most simple of missions?_

When he got there, Kakashi realized Irihi had been right. Strange men wearing scarlet robes were in fact attacking them, but they weren't aiming for damage.

_They're trying to_ take _the children!_

Leaping down, Kakashi drove his knee into the face of one of the men.

_That one we can interrogate when he comes to._

The other men apparently hadn't expected Kakashi to show up and faltered. This was enough time for Irihi and Aiji to practice something they had been working on. Aiji started by throwing three shuriken at man while Irihi pushed off his back. She threw a kunai with an explosive tag straight down and switched places with the middle shuriken, using genjutsu to make herself look like one. Aiji used the replacement jutsu to get right behind the man and used an earth-style jutsu to tie him to the ground. Then he grabbed the man's wrists and placed his feet on the man's back, pushing them forward while he pulled back his arms. The two (real) shuriken were embedded into his shoulders while Irihi returned to her original form and introduced the man to her foot.

In short, after a series of complicated and fantastic moves (along with strategic positioning) that man was not going to wake up in the near future. Kakashi took out a third one, who had been staring at the two children pummel his friend. A scream caught his attention.

"Irihi! Help me!" The redhead whirled around to see one of the men taking Hana. The girl's eyes turned black except for two golden disks in each one (think Gaara's demon form). Her hands morphed into giant, tan claws. Her teeth grew out rapidly and began to sharpen as she grew a large, threatening tail.

"YOU PUT HER DOWN!" The man looked over his shoulder, emitted a terrified sound, and began to run away faster. Without thinking, Irihi followed. She tore after him with impressive speed. Aiji tried to follow his sister, but Kakashi grabbed him and held him back.

"Aiji, go tell your mother what happened. _Now_." The boy was obviously angered that he couldn't help rescue his friend, but did as he was told. As soon as he was sure the boy was gone, Kakashi headed after Irihi. Luckily, he got there in time. Irihi caught up to the man and tackled him. Hana was able to get away just as the two hit the ground. Lunging forward, Kakashi grabbed Irihi and hauled her off the man before she ripped out his spine and beat him to death with it.

"Meep! WHEN I GET MY meeping HANDS ON YOU, I SWEAR TO YOUR meeping meep GOD I'LL RIP OUT YOUR meeping SPINE AND BEAT YOU TO meeping DEATH WITH IT!"

"Hana, are you all right?" The Hyuuga nodded, a bit dazed.

"Good. Irihi, let it go."

"This isn't meeping over you meeping meep meep!" Turning, Kakashi placed Irihi on Hana's lap.

"Scratch her behind the ears." The girl did as she was told and Irihi began to calm down.

"Meeping meep I'll meeping kill you…in five minutes…" Satisfied that Irihi wouldn't go meeping-crazy anymore, Kakashi tied up the man and hauled him over his shoulder.

"Okay, lets relocate that fox!" Hana just stared at him. Cocking his head, Kakashi blinked.

"What?" Irihi snorted.

"You're meeping crazy." Aiji chose that moment to enter, Sasuke following him.

"If you ever say that around Mom, he'll wash out your mouth with _bleach_." Irihi chose not to reply, since her father was there. Kakashi waved happily.

"_Ohayo_, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn. Kakashi-sensei." The silver-haired jounin crinkled his visible eye into an upside down U.

"_Maa_, lets get these guys to interrogation and then we can finish our mission!"

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

As Hana walked to Hiashi's house, she tried to think of something to say to her mother. Neji certainly wouldn't be happy with the news, but she couldn't lie to him. The image of Irihi as a demon seemed branded in her mind. Especially the eyes… Shivering, Hana chastised herself.

_Irihi's your best friend! You've known she's had a demon for…what? Four years? Five years? What difference does it make? She saved your life!_

_I know, but she was…terrifying._

_So what? Friends can scare you sometimes! Irihi is_ _still your friend! Are you still hers?_

_Of course I am!_

_Well there you go._

Realizing she had just outsmarted herself, Hana worked her face into a frown. As she walked, she reflected what her inner personality had said. She…he…_it_ was right. Irihi was still her friend, even if she was a bit scary. That thought lifted the girl's spirits as she jogged the rest of the way to her grandfather's house. When she got there, Neji was sitting in the garden with Hinata. Kiyoshi was sitting in Hinata's lap while Takai and Tsume chased Itsu around.

"Mother!" Neji looked up and beamed as Hana came to him and sat in his lap.

"How was your mission?" Smiling, Hana kissed her mother's cheek.

"It was great." Returning the kiss, Neji wrapped his arms around his daughter. Not but two minutes later, Takai came over and began to chase Hana. Itsu flopped down next to his mother, grateful for the break.

"Hey Neji-ba-san, when's Lee-ji-san getting back from his mission?" His smile fading slightly, Neji shrugged and looked up at the sky.

"I'm not sure. Soon, I hope." They were silent for a bit until Takai ran past them, Hana close on his heels. Helping her was Tsume.

"Traitor!" The dog barked happily as he ran. Takai looked over his shoulder at Hana and ran into someone. Before he could say anything, the figure struck a nerve on his neck. He went down like a rock.

"Takai!" Hana slowed quickly to a stop and reached for a kunai when a scarlet-cloaked figure appeared in front of her.

"Mother!" Neji leapt up and fell straight back down, groaning in pain. Hinata sprang up and threw three shuriken at the figure before grabbing Hana and dragging her back.

"Hana, look after Neji! Itsu, get Takai!" The chuunin nodded and leapt forward, only to be smacked down by a larger scarlet-cloaked figure. This figure, unlike the others, had an enormous club. Hinata dodged it and managed to get a hit in on the man before he grabbed her ankle and threw her headfirst into the Hyuuga clan house. At that moment, Hiashi and several other Hyuuga members leapt out. They formed a protective wall around Neji and Hana, the latter of whom was maneuvering the former onto her back.

"I don't know who you are, but you will leave immediately!" The largest figure readied his club.

"Hand over the girl and we shall leave." Hana faltered for a second.

_Why do they want me?_

Hiashi's eyes narrowed.

"Give me one good reason to." Reaching down, the largest figure picked up the unconscious Itsu and tightened his grip around the male's neck.

"Hand her over or this boy is sacrifice." There was a moment of silence as the two groups stared each other down. The cloaked figure snorted and tightened his grip on Itsu's neck.

"Fine then."

"No wait!" Hiashi glanced over his shoulder and froze as he saw Hana. Neji lay on the ground behind her, trying to stand.

"No…Hana…" The girl shook her head and walked forward until she was standing in front of Hiashi and the others.

"I'll go with you, but only if you promise not to hurt him or anyone else." The figure was still for a second before nodding.

"We agree to your terms, but only if you cooperate."

"I will." Neji, now recovered enough to sit up, clutched his stomach and winced.

"Hana, no!" She looked back and performed the nice guy pose, complete with sincere smile and thumb.

"Don't worry, _oka-san_. I'll be okay. I'll be back soon, I promise!" Neji's eyes widened as he saw Lee overlapping her. Turning, Hana placed a cold mask over her face and covered the rest of the distance to the cloaked figures. The largest dropped Itsu and, unexpectedly, drove the hilt of his club into Hana's stomach. The girl doubled over, coughing up a bit of blood before falling unconscious.

"Hana!" One of the smaller figures quickly threw her over his shoulder. Before the Hiashi and the others could attack, the figures activated several smoke bombs and disappeared. Standing, Neji clutched his stomach and growled.

"Damn it! Hana!"

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Irihi looked at the substance in front of her and tentatively poked it.

"It looks…um…well." Gina, sitting next to her, scrunched up her face into a pout.

"It looks scruggy." 'Scruggy' certainly described it. It was _supposedly_ fish, but it looked…well, scruggy. Aiji looked down at his extra helping in distaste. The food was courtesy of Sato Ayame. Sitting to Aiji's right were her teammates, Haru and Mamoru respectively. Mamoru hadn't been given any, lucky bastard. Haru swallowed and put on a small smile.

"Ah, Ayame-chan, it looks…delectable, but I've already eaten." Ayame didn't look like she minded and turned her eyes on Aiji.

"Aiji-kun, try some! I made it myself!" Irihi refrained from pointing out that was pretty obvious she had made it herself since they had watched her destroy their kitchen in an attempt to cook for them (Aiji). To explain _what_ she was doing there, Gaara was at Suna, Sasuke was checking on Orochimaru and Naruto had mountains of paperwork. At the same time, Ayame's parents were out of town, Haru's grandmother was in the hospital and Mamoru's foster family was on vacation. So the two groups banded together to keep each other company. Again, Irihi had refrained from mentioning that she, her brother and her sister were plenty of company for each other. It would have been wasted breath. She and Gina watched as Aiji picked up a piece with his chopsticks and cautiously put it in his mouth. There was frozen silence for ten seconds before he dropped his chopsticks and ran to the bathroom to throw up. Ayame deflated a bit.

"It can't be that bad…Haru, you try some." The feminine boy looked as though he were ordered to commit seppuku. But he was polite and did as he was asked. Three seconds later, he had joined Aiji in the bathroom. Irihi threw away the rest of the food and made dinner with Gina. Ayame's feminine high had disappeared and she sat in what had been Haru's seat, moping. After a bit, Aiji and Haru came back, Haru helping in the kitchen and Aiji taking refuge on the other side of the island counter. They managed to make light conversation for a few minutes before someone knocked on the door. Handing Haru the peppers, Gina ran to the front hallway.

"I'll get it!" Reaching up, she grabbed the handle and swung the door open. Itachi looked down and smiled at her.

"Hello Gina."

**End of Chapter Three**

A/N: This took entirely too long and it's not that great. Sorry guys, I haven't been feeling very creative or productive for almost a week now. I'll try to be quicker with the next update.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Well. Here I am. Again. Why? Reviews. Thanks to all who reviewed.

**Edit**: Mother f-ing Hell. I'm in a rut. I've been slinking through school and lurking in the shadows of my room. I've been drawing a few lousy pictures and adding ten, maybe twenty words a day to my story (not this one, a non-fanfiction). My muse is on vacation and I have no desire to be creative. Sucks, doesn't it? This is the reason this chapter will probably be shorter than the others. So I feel pretty bad. Please don't hurt me! I promise I'll get my creativity back soon and then I'll blaze through this story and start on my next one. No, not another sequel, sorry to say.

**Dark-Princess-Hikari:** No, they don't look good, but I have a _PLAN_ that will work out in the end. Until then, however…

**SilverWing129:** You'll have to see. cackles malevolently

**Chapter Four: Sarawareta: Gina, Aiji, Irihi, ken Hana. Nimo, Za Yuumai Kyuusaisha! (Kidnapped: Gina, Aiji, Irihi and Hana. Also, The Courageous Saviors!)**

Gina slowly backed up before slamming the door and running back to her siblings.

"Irihi-nee-chan!" The redhead looked up from chopping the meat.

"What's wrong?" Before Gina could say anything, Itachi covered her mouth and picked her up off the ground.

"My, my, haven't you all grown." Irihi tightened her grip on her butcher's knife and pointed it at Itachi.

"Put her down." The Uchiha smirked and handed Gina to Kisame, who was only a few steps behind him.

"Sorry Irihi, but you and Aiji need to come with us." He suddenly glared over his shoulder at the door and snorted.

"Damn, already on their way." It was then that a (hot) frying pan full of peppers and onions hit Itachi full on the head, leaving an impressive bruise on the side of his face. Irihi growled and reached for the soy sauce.

"Put Gina down now, you meeping meep!" Rubbing the side of his face, Itachi chuckled.

"Points for the original swear words. Not that they're going to help you." The redhead opened her mouth to say something when Itachi appeared in front of her, his knee in her stomach.

"Irihi!" Aiji leapt up and lunged for his uncle when Kisame grabbed the back of his shirt and flung him into a wall. Ayame screamed.

"_Aiji-kun!_" Mamoru flinched and clutched his ears.

"Fuck! Scream a little louder next time why don't you!" Ayame either didn't hear him or didn't care. She pulled out three shuriken and aimed for Kisame's head. The shark-nin held Gina up as a shield and the girl flinched. Irihi, on her hands and knees coughing up blood, raised a hand to stop her.

"No, don't!" Itachi slammed her head into the ground, knocking her out. Haru grabbed a handful of pepper and threw it into Itachi's eyes. He then grabbed a kitchen knife and hurled it at the man. Itachi caught it, eyes turning red from the pepper.

"That was not a smart move, boy." Before Haru could get another weapon, the elder Uchiha had him in a headlock. Mamoru grabbed a chair and smashed it over Itachi's head.

"Neither was touching him, you meep!" Haru bit his thumb, using the blood to perform a summoning jutsu. There was a puff of smoke and Itachi found himself standing atop a rather large tiger.

"What the Hell?" Itachi had to let Haru go as the tiger shook him of it's back. Haru managed to stay on and reached down, helping Irihi up.

"Mamoru, take Aiji somewhere safe! Ayame, get Gina!" Before this plan could be put into action, Itachi grabbed Haru's hair and yanked hard, pulling the boy off his cat.

"Ah! Kanpaku! Get Irihi away!" The tiger leapt over Kisame's head and out the door, knocking it down in the process. Kisame, still holding Gina, turned and went after the unconscious redhead and summoned creature. Mamoru leapt after Kisame, intent on saving both girls. Ayame grabbed Aiji and was about to run when a senbon hit her nerve spot, successfully knocking her out (think Haku and Sasuke's 'death'). Haku grabbed Itachi's arm and flipped him over his head into the island counter. The Uchiha landed gracefully, though letting go of Haru's hair.

"You're an interesting boy. A fresh genin, yet able to use the summoning jutsu? Perhaps we should take you as well." Haru narrowed his eyes and pulled out a kunai.

"Not on your life!" Chuckling, Itachi disappeared from sight and reappeared behind Haru.

"My apologies, but we are after my little brother's children. We will be back for you at another time." The boy opened his mouth to say something, but it was cut off as Itachi hit his nerve point. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Stepping over him, the Uchiha made his way to Aiji. Ayame was draped over him in a pathetic attempt to protect him. Kicking her off, he grabbed Aiji by the front of his shirt and held him up.

"Were it not for Naruto-kun's whisker marks, I would think you were my little brother so many years ago." Itachi shook his head and threw Aiji over his shoulder before heading after Kisame. Not but a few minutes later, several scarlet-cloaked men appeared. They looked around and, upon seeing their targets were not there, left.

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Gina sat up, groaning a bit. It was pitch black, her head ached and she vaguely remembered getting knocked out by the man with blue hair. She tried to move her arms and panicked when she found they were tied behind her back. Before she could freak out completely, she heard a soft groan from somewhere to her left.

"Owwwww…what the meep happened?"

"Onee-chan? Is that you?" There was a shuffling sound before Irihi's spoke up quietly.

"Gina, whisper to me."

"W-what?"

"Whisper to me! Whisper to me so I can find you!"

"Onee-chan, I miss mama and Gaara-papa and Sasuke-papa! I want to go home! I don't want to be here! I don't like these bad men and I don't like this place and I don't like these ropes and I don't like this darkness and-" She felt something brush her thigh and she quickly shut her mouth. Once she realized it was just Irihi, she inched closer and maneuvered into her older sister's lap. Irihi's hands were bound behind her back as well, so all she could do was place her chin on Gina's head.

"It's okay. Mama and Gaara-papa and Sasuke-papa will come rescue us."

"Promise?"

"Promise." They sat in silence for a few seconds until Aiji woke up and he and Irihi began trying to get out. Gina sat on her hands, lip quivering slightly.

"I don't like it here." From the darkness, Aiji's voice sounded.

"It's all right, imouto-chan. We'll get out of here." They decided they were in a wagon of some sorts, seeing as how the box they were in moved and bumped. On one bump, Gina slipped back and found if she pulled her legs in, she could work her hands up to her front.

"Onee-chan! Onii-chan! I got my hands from behind my back!" There was a split second of silence before Irihi whispered.

"That's good, Gina. Now try to find onii-chan and me." Nodding, Gina stood and groped through the darkness. She wasn't sure what she would be able to do, but she would try. Her hand came across wood, splintered from years of abuse from both man and nature. She pressed a bit harder, trying to make a hole to see out of and shed a bit of light in. She could smell the particular scent of rain and could barely hear the thunder from outside. She pressed even harder and the wood gave with a slow creaking and then a loud crash. Instead of just a bit falling off, almost half the wall fell. Gina tripped forward and found herself staring directly at rampaging rapids.

"Gina!" The girl opened her mouth to cry out as she fell onto the rope bridge, but it turned into a yelp of pain as a jagged piece tore off a bit of her shirt and cut into her skin. The slick wood didn't keep her in one spot. She rolled and slid, falling off the bridge. Just before she fell to her almost certain death, a strong hand grabbed the back of her shirt. Looking up, she felt a tiny bit relieved to see the blue-haired man who had kidnapped her. She'd rather be with him than falling to her doom. Itachi stood a bit behind the man, Irihi and Aiji already knocked out.

"Kisame, hoist her up and throw her back in. We can make it to (I'm calling it, for lack of a better term) Headquarters even _with_ this troublesome hole."

"Old wood isn't stable, even against the might of a little-" There was a sickening ripping sound and Gina looked over her shoulder to see her shirt ripping. Kisame and Itachi froze, staring at her. Reaching down, the mist-village traitor motioned for her to raise her arms. Before she could do as she was told, her shirt ripped completely and she found herself plunging to the rapids below. She stared up at Itachi and Kisame, watching them grow smaller and smaller as she fell. She hit the water with such force that she blacked out before she felt the cold.

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

It was two days after the children had been taken. Naruto had gone into a frenzy and destroyed most of his office before locking himself in it. Only the combined efforts of Gaara, Sasuke, Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, Tsunade, Konohomaru, Moegi and Shikamaru got him to come out. Haru, Mamoru and Ayame told them everything they knew before they were given a break from missions.

"We have to rescue them." Mamoru looked over at Ayame, whom stared at the ground with intensity.

"First of all, we don't even know where they are. Second of all, _are you freaking crazy!_ A snowball in _Hell_ would have a better chance than us!" Haru looked up at Mamoru.

"She's right. We have to save them." The delinquent switched his gaze to his friend.

"Who are you and what have you done with Haru?"

"Mamoru, I'm serious. Ayame's right. We have to go save the Hokage's children." Three figures suddenly stepped in front of them.

"Not without us you don't." They looked up at the newcomers. Takai, flanked by Kane and Kisho, grinned at them.

"Irihi-chan's my best friend. We argue a lot, but she's still my friend. And if there's a plan to save her, I'm in." Kana placed her hands on her hips and nodded.

"And I'm going to marry Aiji-kun someday." Kisho sighed and jammed his hands into his pockets.

"My dad's are friends with the Hokage, so I kind of owe it to him to help save his children. I'm in." Haru nodded and turned to Mamoru, whom was staring at them. He looked at the boy and then at the others before sighing.

"Fine. Where do we start?"

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

It was dark, cold and wet. She opened her eyes slightly. The world was blurry and shone like light through water. That's what it was. Light. She was underwater. The current carried her downstream, but nothing kept her alive. She couldn't breath. No air. Blood, red as the sky when the sun sets, mixed in with the water. It was her blood that mixed in the water. Her lungs burned as they filled with water. Her body would have ached if it were not numb from the cold. How long she had been there, she did not know. An hour? A day? A minute? A second? More than a second. But how many seconds, she did not know. The world began to grow dark as she began to drown. Drowning is a really horrible way to die (1). This decided, she forced her legs to move. Her face came closer to the surface and she sat up. Her head broke above the surface and she gasped for air. She was having trouble getting the water from her lungs and replacing it with oxygen. The current carried her swiftly down the river, but she could feel the bottom brushing against her feet. Kicking her legs once more, she was carried to shore. She grasped the first thing she could, a rock, and pulled herself out of the water. Crawling on hands and knees, she coughed up all the water in her lungs. When it was finally gone, she began to remember. She remembered the men who tried to take her, her siblings who were in danger, her mama… Her sky blue eyes turned red, the whites of her eyes turning black. A red and purple aura began to swirl around her, flashing with murderous intent. Gina stood, rage pounding through her veins.

_No one hurts my family._

End of Chapter Four

A/N: Sorry about that. I'll try to get the fifth one up soon. But this is the start of my plan.

(1): A quote from Mason from Dead Like Me.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: …zzz…ZZZ…_ZZZ_…ZZZ…zzz…eh? Oh yeah, story. Right-o. Sorry, school's been a drag and my insomnia's been so bad that I don't get to sleep until midnight or later. Bleah.

**Dark-Princess-Hikari**: Ah, your review is taken with gratitude as always. And yes, it does deserve dramatic music, doesn't it? And artist/writers block _Sucks_. With a capital s.

**Yersi Fanel:** Thanks so much for the review. And yeah, Hana's pretty cool. (Gina too.)

**SilverWing129**: Thanks for drawing my attention to that. So here's your explanation (everyone else, I suggest you read this too):

**In the last chapter, at Naruto/Sasuke/Gaara's house, there were the N/S/G children, Aiji, Irihi and Gina. With them was the third genin team with Ayame, Haru, and Mamoru. My Aya-Haru-Moru squad is completely original. Their parents were not anyone major (even in) the series. I made them up because I needed a third genin team and I would have had to get rather creative to make their parents recognizable. I had already pretty much exhausted the original genin teams. So Ayame, Haru and Mamoru have no important parents. Itachi came to the N/S/G house (on behalf of the Akatsuki gang) to kidnap the N/S/G children. He has them now, except for Gina who fell. As to whom the children belong to, here's a list:**

**Gina, Irihi, Aiji: Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke**

**Kisho: Shikamaru, Chouji**

**Takai, Kiyoshi: Kiba, Shino**

**Itsu: Hinata, Kiba (explained somewhere else, the second story I think)**

**Kane: Ino, Sakura**

**Ayame, Haru, Mamoru: Me (or no one important, as explained above)**

I hope that cleared it up. Also, **the Aya-Haru-Moru squad was with the N/S/G children because (it's explained in the chapter) and mostly because Ayame has a crush on Aiji and Haru and Mamoru got dragged along to distract Gina and Irihi. **

Also: Ah, I feel so bad about hurting my beloved Gina-chan! But it's imperative to the plot. By the by, I should probably flip to Hana so you can see what's going on with her.

**Chapter Five: _Za Suuhai, za Akutou, ken za Kodomo. Nimo, Naze Temae Kyuujo Waga Miuchi?_ (The Cult, the Villains and the Children. Also, How Do We Rescue Our Friends?)**

Hana groaned as she came to. Her arms and legs were bound and she seemed to be sitting in some sort of glass case.

_This is_ not _how I wanted to wake up._

Moving around a bit, she winced as the ropes binding her ankles and wrists dug into her flesh. It was then that she realized she was wearing what seemed to be a skimpy light blue nightgown with a lavender see-through jacket over it.

_Okay this just got a lot weirder._

She rolled her head to get out the cricks and noticed a large group of men in scarlet robes staring at her.

_And now I feel like a fish in a bowl._ "Would you stop staring at me?" A man in a large(r) scarlet cloak strode forward.

"Be gone before I strike you, foul heathens!" The men fled into the shadows as the man approached Hana, his eyes turning cold.

"Where are the demons?" A small, pathetic looking man scurried forth, head bent down in what looked to be a permanent bow. His voice was high-pitched and he stuttered on every word.

"W-we a-are s-still t-trying t-to l-locate th-them, m-my l-lord." The man wheeled around and hit him to the floor.

"Idiot! Moron! Low-life scum! I said to get them _both_! They are worth _nothing_ apart! Find the demons _immediately_!" The pathetic man scrambled up, backing off and bowing. His voice got even higher as he spoke, if that was possible.

"Y-yes m-my l-lord, y-yes m-my l-lord, y-yes m-my l-lord!" The man that had hit him hissed and turned back to Hana, smiling in a way that made her skin crawl.

"My lady, forgive me. I just can't control myself when scum do not do as they are told. I'm sure you know the feeling."

"N-not really…" _Holy_ shit! _This guy is fucking_ crazy!

"Come now, there's no need to be modest here. I apologize for the harsh treatment, but one cannot be too careful. You might run off if given the chance."

_Uh…duh._ "W-where am I? Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"You, my lady, are deep in the mountains in the temple of Demonisis. As to who am I, I am the head priest, Toru ((my cop-out name. He's not the same guy from the last story, FYI.)). I am part of an ancient religion that worships the demon gods. As to what we want with you, we need you to control the demons and conquer the world for us."

…_Not good._

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Neji watched as Iruka tried to coax some reaction out of Naruto. The blonde was sitting by the window, staring out at the rain. His eyes were dull and his whole body sagged with utter defeat. Sasuke and Gaara, once they had gotten the whole story, had left to look for the children. The old gang had gone off with them, swearing to Naruto that they would find the children. Neji had been instructed to stay because, curse the timing, he was pregnant again.

_I want Hana back. I want to know she's safe. I want to be able to do_ _something._

"Neji-koi?" The Hyuuga looked up and gave a weak smile.

"Lee…" The bushy-browed male hurried to his side and knelt next to him, gently laying his hand over his stomach.

"Neji-koi, I don't understand what's going on. Where's Hana? What's wrong with Naruto-kun?" Taking a deep breath, Neji explained everything he had heard and seen. He desperately wished he could welcome Lee with good news. He felt like he was betraying his husband in some way by telling him this.

"Lee, I'm so sorry. It's all my-"

"Don't _even_." Neji flinched and shrank back. He could feel the murderous intent rolling off Lee in waves. Two jounin inched forward a bit, ready to protect Neji if need be.

"L-Lee?"

"Don't you _dare_ think that _any_ of this is your fault, Neji-koi. This is _not_ your fault. You did your best to protect our daughter." Now that he had gotten over being scared, Neji gripped Lee's hands and blurted out what was running through his head.

"But I didn't protect her! If I had been a little stronger, I could have kept her safe! If I-" Lee put a finger to Neji's lips and smiled.

"You couldn't protect her because you're pregnant and you would have hurt the baby. If you being pregnant is your fault, then there's something really weird going on with the world. It's my fault and I will take responsibility." Standing, the green-spandex-clad Gai-clone struck up the infamous 'thumb' pose.

"I, Hyuuga Rock Lee, take responsibility for making my beautiful hime pregnant! I will punish myself by locating and rescuing our beautiful daughter and coming back in one piece! This I promise! Naruto-kun, this promise is to you too! I will bring back your adorable children as well! This promise will most definitely _not_ be broken! My shining _youth_ shall pull through!" The blonde perked up a bit and his lips twitched into a smile. Neji smiled and shook his head.

"If there's one constant in the world, it's that Lee will always be Lee." Iruka sighed.

"Lee-san, you're making mine and my baby's head hurt." Everyone turned to stare at Iruka. Beside him, Kakashi looked up from his book and his visible eye crinkled into an upside-down U.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I got Iruka-sensei pregnant!" What followed could be described using the term 'Hell on Earth'. Naruto, outraged that Kakashi had weakened Iruka at such a dire time, had destroyed the _other_ half of his office and attempted to strangle Kakashi to death. Several minutes later, however, Lee and Kakashi were out looking for the children. Naruto flung his desk after them.

"And you had _better_ bring them back before I fucking _kill you!_" Iruka stared at Naruto, appalled and shocked at the vocabulary Naruto had used not moments ago. Neji leaned against the wall and smiled. Lee would bring them back. What he didn't know was Lee wasn't the _only_ one thinking about finding and rescuing the children. On the outskirts of the village, Kisho, followed by Takai, Kane, Ayame, Mamoru and Haru, crouched on the ground, thinking. Haru tried to keep the girls calm while Mamoru and Takai paced restlessly. Finally, the lazy genius began speaking.

"Konoha is surrounded by allies on all sides. To take them anywhere but a neutral country is absolute suicide."

"Yeah. So what?" Kisho glared at Mamoru. He hated impatient people.

"I'm getting there. From what I can tell, the guys that took Irihi, Gina and Aiji-"

"The _great_ Aiji."

"Whatever. The guys that took those three were part of the Akatsuki gang."

"Who are they?"

"A group of traitors."

"To Konoha?"

"To everyone. One of them, Itachi, is Sasuke-sama's older brother." Kane and Ayame gasped while Haru nodded.

"I figured as much. He had the Sharingan."

"Right. I don't know exactly what he wants with them, but it probably has something to do with their demons."

"Aiji-_kun_ isn't a demon."

"Will you stop interrupting me? Anyway, the guys that took Hana are from a different group entirely." Haru raised his hand politely.

"Yes, Haru?"

"How does all this relate to where they are?"

"Good question. Now, both groups knew exactly who they wanted and where they were. But from both descriptions, it sounded like they were after someone else, _along_ with who they took. If my suspicions are correct, each group wants what the other group has. To answer Haru's question, where they are is somewhere close. They knew too much to have come recently. They've been here for a while. In alliance with this, they still need the other people or persons. To simplify, we'll view it as pieces. Aiji, Gina, and Irihi are one piece. Hana is the other. Both groups want _both_ pieces, instead of just one. Most likely, however, they're unaware the other group _has_ the piece they're looking for. If they _are_ aware, chances are they aren't aware of _much_, as to where the other group is. So they're probably still around somewhere, looking for the piece they don't have. Everyone with me so far?" Mamoru and Takai stared at Kisho while Haru nodded, Kane and Ayame a little hesitantly. Kisho sighed.

"Okay, let me try to explain it differently. Ah…okay, I've got it. There are two pieces: Hana is 1; Aiji, Irihi and Gina are 2. Now, one group, we'll call them Group Red, they have piece 1. The Akatsuki have piece 2. With me so far?" Nods.

"Group Red wants piece 2 _in addition_ to piece 1. The Akatsuki wants piece 1 _in addition_ to piece 2. Got it?" More nods.

"Group Red _probably doesn't know_ the Akatsuki have piece 2, while the Akatsuki _probably_ _don't know_ Group Red has piece 1. Still with me?" Again, nods.

"Group Red and the Akatsuki are still hanging around trying to find the pieces they're looking for. That means…?" Takai spoke first.

"That means…that means the others are probably with them."

"And _that_ means…?"

"That…we…can…find them!"

"Yes! Now do you get it?" Mamoru and Takai nodded enthusiastically. Kane and Ayame, though they'd never admit it, were glad it had been explained. Haru raised his hand again.

"So what now?" Here, apparently, was the flaw in Kisho's plan.

"I'm not sure. Like I said before, they have limited places to go. That means they're somewhere people don't go often. Somewhere-"

"The mountains!" Everyone stared at Mamoru. He glanced at all of them before crossing his arms over his chest.

"What? That's where _I'd_ go if I were trying to hide! They're far away from Konoha and set just out of the radiuses of our allies, and who _knows_ all the catacombs down there?" There was a long moment of silence before Kisho stood.

"Okay. This is the best plan we've got, so we're going to roll with it. We'll check out the mountains and look for any suspicious signs. Takai, you'll use Tsume to try and find the scent of either Hana or the Hokage's children. I know the rain probably washed away most of it, but I need you to try." The boy saluted.

"Haru, what different levels of summoning do you know?"

"Heimin, Totei, Teishu, and Kanpaku (1)."

"Good. Kane, you can do the _Shintenshin no jutsu_ like your mom, right?"

"Right."

"Even better. Mamoru, you're good with earth-style techniques and Ayame, you're good at Genjutsu, right?" They both nodded and Kisho rubbed his hands together, grinning, as plans began to form in his head.

"All right then. Pack light. We're headed for the mountains to save our friends."

End of Chapter Five

I FINISHED THE CHAPTER! MY MUSE IS _BACK_!

(1): Heimin-Commoner, Totei-Apprentice, Teishu-Master, Kanpaku-Advisor. These are different levels of summoning, going from weakest to strongest.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: …I really need to update more often. Sorry to everyone who was waiting. wouldn't let me upload any documents for a while, which only added to the problem.

**Dark-Princess-Hikari:** Who doesn't love Lee? And don't worry about Iruka's kid; the balance of Iruka and Kakashi is enough to grant it a…semi-normal childhood. Or perhaps it's…them? ((If I could portray an evil devious smile using a clever picture constructed of letters, numbers, and miscellaneous symbols, I would.)) Thanks for the review.

**Yersi Fanel: **Only mess with the children if you're ready to get the parents. Thanks for the review!

**SilverWing129:** Yes, having my muse back is a wonderful thing. Especially since she's engaged to my alternate personality. And that's a pretty good summary to what's going on. Thanks for the review!

**Chapter Six: _Gina Onnen! Nimo, za Akuma Sussho! Watashi Mune Nokosu Waga Gokyoudai. (Gina's Hatred! Also, the Demons Released! I Will Save My Siblings.)_**

Irihi groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She was lying on her back, her arms and legs strapped down to a large stone table. A leather band went over her chest so she could move even less.

"What the…" Looking around as best she could, she spotted Aiji on another table. In between them was an empty table, made for someone much smaller. No one was on it.

"Gina?" Aiji groaned and his eyes opened. He blinked in surprise and looked around, spotting Irihi and then the empty table.

"Where's Gina?"

"I don't know. The last time I saw her was back in the cart. She fell out and then that guy knocked us out."

"She fell." Both children looked up as much as they could as Itachi entered. He had removed his hat and cloak and stood before them in a black outfit that showed off his well-defined muscles. Aiji growled and tried to get free, but the chains around his wrists forbid it.

"What do you mean, _she fell_?" Itachi regarded the clone of his brother for a few seconds before moving over to a table with various potions.

"We were going across a bridge when she pushed out the wall. It was raining, so the wood was slippery. She slipped and fell off the bridge." Irihi strained against her restraints, practically screaming.

"_Why didn't you save her?! Why didn't you look for her?!_"

"It was useless to look for her. It was too long a drop, the water was too cold, and we were right above the rapids. She's dead." Irihi fell back on the table, closing her eyes. Aiji struggled a bit longer before catching a look at his sister's face. Her face was scrunched up in fury and grief and a few tears managed to find their way down her cheeks. Itachi glanced back and noticed her tears, but said nothing. There was a long bought of silence in the room, broken only when Itachi moved over to Irihi with a needle in his hand.

"What are you doing?" Checking to make sure the needle was working properly, the raven-haired male moved it closer to the girl's arm.

"Bringing out your demon. Once we get the last piece we need, we'll be able to harness your powers. Until then, you'll need to get used to using your demonic powers. It's better to start now. This way you won't die." Irihi stiffened as she remembered what her father had said about her demon.

_It wants to feed on humans, Irihi._

_Don't let it control you. If you do, you could hurt or kill someone close to you._

Do not take advantage of it. That will end… 

"No!" The redhead thrashed, trying desperately to get away. Anger flooded her veins as Itachi grabbed her arm to hold it still.

"I'm not going to kill anyone! I'm not going to let you use me! I'm not-" The needle pierced her skin and Itachi slowly eased the fluid into her system. Irihi felt her voice go numb as she watched the dark purple substance drain into her blood. She could hear Aiji calling for her, but his voice dissolved into the sound of her own heartbeat. Everything lost its definite form as the edges of her vision went black. She heard someone whispering in her ear, but she couldn't tell where they were or who they were.

Aiji watched in panic as his sister stopped struggling. She had been fighting a few seconds ago, but now she just lay still, as if she was dead.

"Irihi! Irihi, snap out of it! Irihi!" Itachi placed two fingers on her neck and turned back to the table.

"She's alive. It will take some time for the potion to take effect. Now then. Why don't you be a good boy and join your sister?" Pulling his whole face into a snarl, Aiji strained against his bonds.

"What did you do to my sister, you bastard!"

"Language, Aiji. What would your mother say?"

"Mom would be kicking your ass if he were here!" Shaking his head, Itachi refilled the needle. Aiji glanced over nervously at Irihi. Her eyes were wide open, but she wasn't seeing anything. Her mouth had fallen open and her lips were moving slightly to form words. Moving actually wasn't the best word, they were more of twitching into words.

_She's still alive…but for how long?_ Itachi came to stand beside his nephew and firmly took his arm.

"Your turn."

"Why do you hate my father?" The male froze and stared at Aiji.

"…What."

"Why do you hate Sasuke? What has he ever done to you? Why did you kill his clan?"

"_His_ clan, just so happens to be _your_ clan as well. Since your mother took the last name Uchiha, you are part of the clan."

"Then so are you. Why did you kill them?" Looking down at the boy's arm, Itachi's face lost its expression.

"I wanted to see what I was capable of. Those pathetic rats were easy to slaughter." Aiji twisted his face into a hateful smirk.

"Rats are pretty pathetic. But then again, so are weasels. I guess grandpa had the right idea when he named you 'Itachi'. ((Note: Itachi means weasel.))" Turning a glare on Aiji, Itachi stabbed the needle into his arm and injected the poison almost all at once. Aiji jerked and his eyes went wide. He soon went limp like his sister. The Akatsuki member watched him for a bit longer before pulling out the needle and going to clean it.

…_Stupid brat._

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Hana sighed and, for the four hundredth and eighty-seventh time, wished she was at least allowed to get up and stretch. Her legs had begun to ache several hours ago. Now she couldn't feel them at all except for the few times she shifted. Then it hurt like absolute Hell. The girl shifted again and winced as pain shot through her legs and then went up to the rest of her body. Tears sprang to her eyes as she bit her lip and waited for the pain to pass.

_Irihi, please help me! I'm scared, I don't know where I am, I need your help! Please, help me!_

…_na…._

Hana's head jerked up as tears fell down her face.

_Irihi?_

…_Ha…na…_ Before Hana could hear anything else, the head priest swept into the room.

"My lady, the preparations for the ceremony are nearly complete. All we require now are the children of the Shukaku and the Kyuubi." This got Hana's attention pretty quickly. She jerked slightly and turned her head to stare at him. Images of Irihi and Aiji danced in her head.

"The…the children of…"

"The children of the Shukaku and the Kyuubi, yes. Unfortunately, they were taken by a vagabond group of godless jackals. Not to worry, my lady, we shall soon retrieve them and you will be able to use them to control this world and show these heathens the light." Hana felt her mouth drop open a bit. Images of Irihi and Aiji as demons, killing themselves over her went through her mind. Tears formed in her eyes and began to drip down her cheeks.

_Oh no…_ The head priest frowned. He had been sure Hana would be excited over the news. Instead, she was crying and looked as though her world was ending.

"My lady?" Hana gritted her teeth and glared at Toru. Tears continued to stream down her face.

"Leave them alone!"

"I…beg your pardon?"

"Don't you touch them! Leave my friends alone!" The head priest narrowed his eyes.

"_Friends_? My lady, those demons are nothing more than your pawns. You shouldn't treat them as your equals. You need only to use them until-"

"Shut up! Irihi and Aiji are my friends! I would never use them for anything! I'm not part of your religion and I'm not going to help you! I'm not going to take over the world for you! I won't do that to my friends!" Toru gritted his teeth and slammed his hands against the glass. Hana flinched as the sound magnified and assaulted her ears.

"You bitch! How dare you speak to me that way!"

"Leave my friends alone you crazy bastard!" The priest slammed his hands on the glass again. Hana winced and tried not to show her pain. Bringing his hands up, Toru began to slam them on the glass again and again. All the while, he yelled at her, his voice slowly getting louder and louder.

"You little harlot! You're just as godless as the rest of the world! I beat the fear of the demon gods into you! You'll be sorry you ever talked back to me! You'll do as I say! We are perfect! We are the ones who will triumph, and you _will_ use those demons! You'll use them until they break and then you'll toss them aside! You hear me you slut?! _Do you hear me?!_"

"Head priest?" The priest wheeled around, eyes full of fury at the person who stood at the door.

"WHAT!" The man backed up a bit before speaking.

"There are some people here. They wish to speak to you about the chosen one." Immediately, Toru regained his composure.

"Very well. Make sure everything is ready for the ceremony."

"Yes sir." The head priest strode out and the man at the door moved aside and bowed as he passed. Once he was gone, the acolyte entered the room.

"My lady, are you all right?"

"I-I'm…f-fine…"

"Uh…huh. Is there anything I can do for you?" Trying to get rid of the ringing in her ears, Hana looked at her legs sadly.

"You could stop the head priest from using my friends."

"Ah. Well…is there anything I can do for you that wouldn't end up in my death or the equivalent thereof?"

"You could let me out so I could stretch my legs." The man glanced around nervously before moving forward and picking the giant glass dome up. Hana watched him, slightly amazed that he could do it without aid. The acolyte moved forward quickly and undid the ropes on her legs before helping her down.

"Shall I let you go?"

"Uh…no, actually. I think if you do that, I'll end up falling down." The man looked confused, but did as she said.

"Like this?"

"Yeah. Actually, could you untie my arms for me? It'd be easier for me." Hana couldn't believe her luck. Not only had the guy gotten the stupid head priest away from her, but he was actually dumb enough to untie her. As soon as her arms were free, Hana created three other clones.

"Thanks for the help bye now!" Sending the clones in different directions, Hana quickly hid herself and waited for the acolyte to sound the alarm. She was not disappointed.

"The chosen one has escaped! The chosen one has escaped!"

_Bingo._ Using genjutsu, the Hyuuga disguised herself as an acolyte and ran out in the crowd that had been forming. She made sure to send one of her clones near the crowded hall. Sure enough, they spotted the clone and ran after it. Hana pretended to start for the clone, but stopped and headed for the exit. She got to the door, flung it open, and raced outside. Her plan would have worked were it not for one unforeseen event. The people visiting were Itachi and Kisame. The girl ran headfirst into Itachi, looked up at his face, and immediately knew he knew who she really was.

"Oh shit." Before Hana could flee, Itachi grabbed her arm and forced her to dispel the jutsu.

"We've been looking for you, Hyuuga Hana."

"THE GODLESS JACKALS HAVE THE CHOSEN ONE!" The Uchiha's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed.

"The what now?" Acolytes began streaming out of the building, various weapons in their hands. Itachi smirked and pulled out three shuriken while Kisame readied his sword.

"Pathetic."

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Kisho placed his hand on the trunk of the tree he was on and glanced around them, nervous about being in the same place for too long.

"Takai, hurry up. We don't have all day and the sky's lookin' pretty dark." ((This is backtracking to when the N/G/S kids are at the bridge)). Takai looked over at Tsume, whom was trying to find the scent.

"Anything Tsume?" The black pup looked at its master and whimpered. Haru, perched on a branch near them, gently stroked the tiger next to him.

"Kisho, Totei can't catch anything either. Maybe we should backtrack?" Sighing, the lazy nin scratched his head in frustration.

"No, we managed to follow the scent up to here. Backtracking will only lead us here again." Kane, whom was standing next to Ayame, scowled.

"So what do we do? You're the smart one here, Kisho." Pausing to glare at the girls, Kisho sat down and laced his fingers together except for the first two. He tapped the tips of those two fingers together, creating a rhythm that helped organized his thoughts. After a bit, he stood and turned to the west.

"There's a bridge over that way. It's the only way to cross the river this close to the rapids. If they tried to go any other way, they'd have to spend almost a day getting around the rapids and coming to a place they could cross. We'll go there first." The group nodded and headed for the bridge. As they ran, it began raining heavily. At one point, they had to stop for a few minutes and wait for the rain to lessen. It was almost an hour later when they got to the bridge. Kisho eyed the slippery wood with unease.

"Careful going across. One slip and you could end up dead." The group nodded and went slowly. Kane accidentally slipped at one point and everyone froze, waiting to see what would happen next.

"I'm okay." Kisho let out the breath he had been holding and went back to help her up. The girl accepted his hand, but froze as her eyes fell on a piece of cloth. Reaching down, she gently pulled it off the wood and showed it to the others. Mamoru was the first to speak after a bit.

"Isn't that the same cloth that was on Gina's shirt?" At the exact same time, everyone came to the same conclusion. As one, they rushed to the side and looked down at the rapids. No one said anything as they stared. Finally, Kisho spoke.

"There's no way. She couldn't have survived that fall. She was too young and the water's too cold this time of year. The only way she could have survived was if someone grabbed her and pulled her up." Almost frantically, Ayame spoke.

"That's possible, right? Maybe they noticed and caught her. It could have happened, right?" Taking the piece of cloth, Kisho studied it solemnly.

"Either way, this could be useful. Even if Gina didn't…her scent's still on Irihi and Aiji. This should be enough to find them." The boy turned to Takai and handed him the cloth to him. The dog boy looked as though it was the last thing he wanted to touch. Reluctantly, he took the cloth and allowed Tsume to take a whiff of it. Immediately, they found the scent on the bridge. It lingered just above the wood, moving across the bridge and to the other side.

"Got it."

"Good. Lets go." The group started off again, this time much more solemn than before. The thought of the Hokage's beautiful little girl falling to her death placed a shadow of doom over their hearts. Little did they knew Gina was still alive, and hungry for vengeance.

"I will save them, and _kill_ whoever stands in my way!"

**End of Chapter Six**


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: head/desk You may now shoot the lazy authoress. (- is lynched -) The reason for my update schedule (or lack thereof) is that my creative juices for this story are slowly being drained into my entertaining ideas. But no more! I will finish this chapter! Yosh! Okay, now on to the story! But first…

**IMPORTANT A/N:** In the beginning, I said this would mostly be about Irihi, Hana and Aiji. While I desperately love my N-G-S children (and my N-G-S pairing), I'm going to have to focus less on them and more on Neji, Lee, and Hana, most likely in that order. Granted, the other children will still be in the story. I can't continue the plot without them. (insert nervous laugh here)

**Dark-Princess-Hikari: **Yup. Teh authoress actually got off her lazy butt and updated. Nutbags…nice word.

**Yersi Fanel: **_Maa_, I figured they'd turn out pretty cutely. Of course, now I have to resist the urge to draw them together because if I _did_ draw them together that way, their parents'd lynch me. (insert scary Neji and Gaara HERE) You're about to find out how Neji's doing and don't worry, Itachi will get what he deserves. (those bastard cultists of mine too. Curse you Toru ( -cop out name)!)

_**Chapter Seven (My Longest Story To Date!): Kitai o za Tei! Senpou Shimeta? Watashi Iriyou tame Nou! (Danger in the Air! Are They All Right? I Need to Know!)**_

Neji paced worriedly. There had been no news from Lee for several hours now and not only that, but the other genin squads had gone missing. The Hyuuga bit his lower lip and winced as it stung and the coppery taste of blood flowed into his mouth. He had chewed on it so much that it had begun to bleed.

"Damn it…" Naruto, sitting at his desk and doing paperwork (read: staring off into space and worrying) looked up.

"Neji-san…?" Holding his lip, Neji reached for a tissue.

"Ma lip's bleedin'." The blonde stood and got the first aid kit.

"Here. This cream should stop the bleeding and it tastes terrible so you won't bite your lip." Neji sat still while Naruto rubbed the ointment on his lower lip. He was wrong. It didn't taste terrible. It tasted horrible, awful, disgusting, _and_ terrible all rolled into one.

"Blech!" Chuckling, Naruto put the first aid kit back.

"Yeah, that's what I said when Sasu-chan first used it on me."

"When were you biting your lips?"

"When Irihi and Aiji went on their first mission. I was scared out of my wits because I kept remembering my first mission." Neji grinned as he thought back to Naruto's horror stories about their first mission. He had though they were exaggerated, but later on Kakashi confirmed everything.

"Funny, I thought the exact same thing. I almost went after them to make sure it would all go smoothly."

"What stopped you?" At this, Neji turned beet red as he remembered what had stopped him: two cans of whipped cream, a jar of cherries, three hours alone, and a very, very, _very_ horny Lee.

"Well…" Naruto laughed again. Neji laughed with him. Of course, their laughter died quickly and the office was plunged into uncomfortable silence once again. Neji clutched his chest, right above his heart, and winced as he felt the worry eating away at him. Worry for Irihi, for Aiji, for Gina, for Sasuke and Gaara, for Kakashi, but mostly, worry for his family. For his beautiful little daughter who was so eager to learn and help people and who's smile made his whole day brighten, and especially for his beloved husband, who often went out on missions and returned with a bouquet of roses or bath salts or a new kimono as form of an apology when he didn't have to. When him returning safe and sound was enough. His husband who knew he wasn't perfect and loved him for his faults anyway. His husband who would do something romantic and thoughtful for no reason other than he could. His husband who never questioned Neji's loyalty, not even for a second. His husband who he loved very much.

Tears sprang to Neji's eyes and buried them into his hands. He sobbed into them, trying to make the tears stop. He felt Naruto's hand on his shoulder and leaned against the blonde, crying onto his shoulder.

"Why? Why did this happen? Why can't I protect my daughter? Why can't I protect my Lee? Why can't I protect the ones that mean the world to me?" Holding him, Naruto rested his chin on the Hyuuga's head.

"You do protect them, Neji-san. Without you, they wouldn't have anywhere to call home. You're their safe haven. Their anchor. Whenever they need someone to go to, they always and always will turn to you. They need you. When Lee and Hana get back, you'll be here waiting for them, and that will mean the most to them. It's…it's all we can do right now." Neji clutched the Hokage's shirt while more tears ran down his face.

"It's not fair! It's just not fair!" The blonde took a deep breath and held his friend tightly.

"It really isn't…it's not fair you had to born into the Branch Family, it's not fair I had the Kyuubi sealed inside of me, it's not fair Gaara had the Shukaku sealed inside of him, it's not fair Sasuke's entire clan was killed, it's not fair Lee was judged by what he couldn't do instead of what he could do, it's not fair at all. But that's how life is and all we can do is do the best we can." By now, tears were trailing down his face. Neji sniffled and tried to collect himself. The two finally broke apart and went back to their respective seats. Neji rested his elbows on the windowsill and propped his head on his hands. The sky was dark gray and rain drizzled down on the village. Memories of Lee and Hana ran through his mind.

_TIME FOR FLASHBACK LAND!_

_Neji opened his eyes slowly as he felt something tugging at his hair. Looking down, he grinned as he saw Hana pressed against his chest, head tucked underneath his and arms curled up in front of her. Lee lay just behind her, arms draped over her and Neji and chin resting on her head. He was awake, eyes glazed over as he played with a bit of Neji's hair._

"_Lee…?" The youthful male smiled gently and ran slightly scarred fingers over Neji's face. He kept his voice low._

"_Go back to sleep, Neji-koi. It's too early for you to be up." Shaking his head a bit, the Hyuuga reached up and took Lee's hand in his._

"_That's not fair. I know you stay up and watch me sleep, why can't I watch you sleep?" Still smiling, Lee shifted slightly and kissed Neji's forehead._

"_Because I don't look like an angel and you do." Laying the rough hand on his face, Neji closed his eyes and let Lee stroke his face gently. He opened his eyes again and gave Lee the most loving look he could muster._

"_You're my angel. I don't care what you look like. I love you." Lee's eyes softened so much Neji felt his heart melt._

"_Neji-koi…there aren't words beautiful, poetic or romantic enough to express how much I love you verbally. So I have to make up my own." Propping his head up with one hand, Neji absently-mindedly stroked Hana's hair._

"_Oh? And what have you come up with?" Propping his head up in a similar fashion, Lee pretended to think._

"_Hm. I haven't come up with anything yet. What's the most beautiful word you can think of?"_

"_I can think of two."_

"_Name 'em."_

"_Hana and Lee." The male blinked, then grinned._

"_Hanaly." It took all of Neji's will power not to laugh. He didn't want to wake up Hana, but he did want to have their morning conversation. Lee, taking this as his cue to continue, began to list words._

"_Nelove. Hyuutiful. Hancious." By now, Neji was giggling. So was Hana. This was pretty much a dead giveaway that their daughter was awake and had been pretending to be asleep. Raising his free hand, Lee began to tickle their daughter._

"_I love my Hyuutiful family!" Hana shrieked as her sides were attacked with dancing fingers. Neji attempted to escape, but Lee grabbed him and pulled them both into his lap, ticking them without mercy. Neji couldn't stop laughing as Lee managed to pin him down and tickled him at the same time. _

"_Lee s-stop it!" _

"_Neva!" This went on for several minutes until Hana and Neji managed to tackle Lee and began tickling him. Somehow, all three fell out of bed and melted into a giggling pile on the floor, tangled in sheets and blankets. Taking several deep breaths, Neji calmed down and untangled himself._

"_Okay, that's enough. It's too early in the morning to be this loud and if we don't calm down, Gaara or Sasuke or Naruto-kun will come tell us to be-" There was a loud knock on the downstairs door and, casting a pretend glare at Lee and Hana, Neji went down to answer it. Hana and Lee were still as they heard muffled voices from downstairs. Soon enough, Neji came back and looked at them with an unreadable expression.. Lee was the first to speak._

"_So. Was is Sasuke, Gaara or Naruto-kun?" Neji's face split into a broad grin as he spoke._

"_Oddly enough, it wasn't any of them. It was Aiji. He told us we were being too loud and told us to either be quiet or move our morning conversations to a later time, preferably when Sasuke and Gaara have had some coffee." The two still on the floor burst into a fit of giggles, Neji soon joining them.._

_End Flashback_

Eyes glazing over, Neji watched the rain hit the window.

­_Please be okay…Lee…_

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Lee bounded through the treetops, lips pressed into a thin line and eyes drawn into a scowl. Scenarios of Hana being hurt and killed ran through his mind, only fueling his worry. Just ahead of him, Kakashi tried to think about where the children could be. Their options weren't as limited as he would like them to be. Fortunately, fate smiled upon him in the form of Sasuke and Gaara. The Uchiha looked mildly surprised.

"Kakashi? What are you doing here?" Lee caught up and gave them a hopeful look.

"Any luck?" Gaara nodded and spoke quickly, relaying all the information they had.

"Some villagers not too far from Konoha claim they saw men in red and black cloaks pass through a few days ago. All evidence points to the Akatsuki, most likely Itachi and Kisame. Along with that, someone said they saw men in red cloaks heading for Konoha." Kakashi frowned and his visible eye narrowed.

"That doesn't tell us where they are." Sasuke spoke this time.

"It does, actually. We found out the direction they came from and backtracked a bit. Both groups came from around the mountains, so that's where we're headed now." Kakashi nodded and glanced at Lee. The bushy-browed male looked as though an angel had come down and tapped him on the nose.

"Lee?"

"Lets go." As one, the group headed off for the mountains. Kakashi opted for staying in the back. The three fathers were tense, minds completely focused. Smiling gently, despite the situation, Kakashi thought back to his wife and his soon-to-be children.

­_I don't blame them. If Iruka or my children were in danger, I wouldn't be acting any different._ Up ahead, Lee clenched his teeth together until it hurt. He was worried about Hana and the other children, along with Neji. He knew how vulnerable he was right now and with Iruka no better off, the duty of protecting everyone fell upon Naruto.

_Please let nothing bad happen._ The four crossed the bridge, careful of the slippery wood. As they crossed, Lee glanced over the edge and felt a certain sense of dread. The jounin shook his head and continued on, trying to shake the feeling. They reached the other side quickly and began bounding through the branches. The mountains loomed not too far away, jagged and ominous against the dark sky. The wind howled through the trees as lightning lit up the darkened clouds in an eerie fashion. A feeling of dread settled over the land, sending shivers up and down Lee's spine. Images of Hana dead or dying began to play over in his mind, adding to the worry already heavy on his heart. A silent message seemed to pass through the group and they all picked up their speed. Suddenly, Kakashi leapt in front of them and stopped abruptly. Years of training helped the other three stop just behind him.

"Kakashi?"

"There are six people, just up ahead." Sasuke nodded and pulled out a kunai while Gaara pulled out the stopper on his gourd and Lee readied several shuriken. They moved forward silently before leaping in the clearing. Lee threw his shuriken at one figure while pinning down another and drawing out a kunai. His eyes widened in surprise as they met the eyes of Shikamaru and Chouji's son, Kisho.

"What the-"

"LEGGO!" Lee and Kisho both looked over at Gaara, whom was holding Takai and Mamoru with his sand. The sand nin looked just as confused as Lee felt. Sasuke had Kane on the ground on her stomach, kunai at her throat, while Kakashi was pinning Ayame's wrists behind her back. Haru was pinned to a tree by Lee's shuriken, a summoned tiger attempting to dislodge him. Kisho was the first to speak.

"So. I guess we were all headed in the same place." Grumbling, Sasuke got off Kane and hauled her off the ground. Gaara dropped the two boys in his grasp while Kakashi released Ayame and went over to rescue Haru. Lee stood and helped Kisho off the ground, putting his kunai back into his pouch.

"What are all of you doing here?" Dusting himself off, Kisho sighed.

"We're looking for Hana and the others. I'd actually prefer to leave it to you guys but-" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest.

"Good. Go home." Ayame and Kane looked shocked, then angry.

"Why can't we help?!"

"We're as good as any jounin!" Leaning down to glare at the little girls, Sasuke brought his face into a scowl.

"No, you're not. You're _genin_. This mission is way too high level for you." Ayame, just to flaunt her knowledge of what Sasuke did, spoke up angrily.

"But you and Hokage-sama fought that Zabuza guy!"

"That was an accident. We were misinformed as to the aspects of the mission and barely escaped with out lives. That was also completely different from now. Now get going home. Your parents are probably worried sick and you'll be nothing but trouble if you stay." Takai suddenly stood up, holding Tsume in one arm and holding out the piece of cloth from Gina's shirt in the other.

"We found part of Gina's shirt and it's still got Irihi and Aiji's scent on it. The only ones who can track it are me and my dad." Sasuke and Gaara's eyes widened as they stared at the piece of shirt. Lee felt his chest tighten slightly as he saw the ripped edges. Gaara strode forward and snatched the piece of cloth, eyes narrowing.

"Your father is out here. We'll find him and give the cloth to him." Kisho, still not in favor of the plan but having to contribute, spoke up in a lazy voice.

"And how long is that going to take? You have no idea where he is. He could be miles away. It would take a lot longer than letting Takai track it down himself and the more time we waste, the more danger the others could be in." There was silence as the adults thought it over. Seeing an opportunity, Kisho pressed on.

"We all have skills that could be useful. Haru already knows four levels of summoning, Takai has his nose and Tsume, Kane knows her mom's technique, Ayame's great at Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, Mamoru knows earth-style techniques and we're heading for a mountain and I'm just as good at planning as my mom (Shikamaru). We can be useful to you." There was silence again and Lee looked at the faces of his teammates before speaking.

"I say we bring them along." Sasuke's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. Before he could tell, Lee continued.

"Kisho's right. They all know skills that could be useful. Also, we already know we're near our enemies. There're probably a few patrols wandering around looking for trespassers. That in mind, I'm not comfortable with the idea of sending the kids back to Konoha by themselves." Silence reigned yet again as the other three adults thought about Lee's reasoning. Finally, Gaara spoke.

"I agree with Lee. They may turn out to be more than trouble." Sasuke nodded, sucking up his own pride and Kakashi smiled slightly.

"Then it's settled. Kids, you're sticking with us. But you had better keep up." The six nodded and obediently began to follow the adults towards the mountains.

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Hana opened her eyes slowly, vaguely remembering she had been knocked out sometime in the fight. Tugging at her arms and legs, she realized she was hanging from a wall, arms and legs chained down to the rough stone. Upon further observation, she noticed Irihi and Aiji were tied to large stone tables with odd tubes running from them to her wall.

_This doesn't look good._ Luckily, her vantage point allowed her to see the rest of the room. It was rather large with strange markings running along the walls and floors. Chained to the ground in a kneeling position was Kisame, stripped down to his pants. Itachi was tied up and leaning against the wall not far from him. It was pretty obvious who won. Leaning forward as best she could, Hana called to Irihi in a quiet voice.

"Irihi! Wake up! Irihi!" The redhead stirred and opened her eyes, looking up at Hana. The Hyuuga girl gasped as she saw them. The whites of Irihi's eyes were actually black and her normally light green eyes were gold. She looked…demonic.

"Oh, Irihi, what have they done to you?" The girl began to growl and looked to the door. It flew open, almost smashing Itachi square in the face, to reveal Toru and several acolytes.

"Ah, she has awoken! Excellent! We may now begin the ceremony!" Itachi, having been woken up by the loud smashing sound right next to his ear, struggled against his bonds.

"What is this? What are you planning on doing?" Taking out a shiny pearl knife, Toru pulled Kisame's head back and held the knife over his chest, grinning sadistically at the worried look that leapt into Itachi's eyes.

"We are going to recreate the world." The head priest let the knife fall and slash open Kisame's chest. Itachi leapt forward, only to be yanked back by a chain in the wall. The shark man hissed in pain as his blood seeped onto the ground, flowing into carvings and then proceeding down to the tables where Irihi and Aiji were held. Toru's eyes lit up with glee as the acolytes took their places around the circle. By now, Aiji was awake, his eyes red like the Kyuubi's. Both demons struggled and snarled as the acolytes began chanting. Slowly, the carvings in the ground began to glow. As soon as the glow hit Kisame's blood, the red liquid seemed to speed through the carvings, even going up the wall. Toru raised his hands and began to chant, only to be interrupted when the doors crashed open yet again.

"What in the-"

"HANA!" Hana's head snapped up and relief filled her chest as she saw Lee standing there, Sasuke, Gaara and Kakashi just behind him.

"DADDY!" Gaara and Sasuke took one look into the room before springing into action, tearing through the acolytes. Lee smashed a few of them before hurrying to his daughter's aide.

"Hana, are you all right?" Tears streaming down her face, Hana violently shook her head.

"No! I wanna go home!" The bushy-browed male nodded and began to undo the chains.

"I know. I'll get you down and we can go home."

"Daddy, they did things to Irihi and Aiji! We have to help them!"

"We will. Where's Gina?" Hana stared at Lee, confusion and fear in her eyes.

"Isn't…isn't she back in Konoha?" Lee's eyes widened in surprise and fear before a large stone fist slammed into him, knocking him into a wall.

"Daddy!" Toru snarled and prepared another spell.

"You fool! How dare you touch the chosen one!" Standing, Lee clenched his fists and pure hate rolled off of him in waves.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!"

_End of Chapter Seven_

Okay, I've updated. Hope you all like it and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..._  
_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight: Za Saishuu Kichaku! Aru Tamae Saa tame za Shuuryou?**_** (The Final Conclusion! Have We Come to the End?)**

Lee charged the man, avoiding the attacks sent at him. He couldn't hear the sounds of the others fighting anymore. All he could hear was his own blood pounding in his ears. His body seemed to be moving all on it's own as he drove his fist into the man's face. He hit him again and again until warm blood seeped through the bandages on his hands and he could feel his fists breaking bones, splintering them into itty-bitty shards that went into the man's face. He stopped and stared. The man crumpled to the floor, his face deformed to the point where he couldn't even be recognized anymore. No one else seemed to notice as his life began spilling out of his body and onto the ground. Lee brought his hands up, unsure if the blood on them was his or not.

"Daddy! Behind you!" Wheeling around, Lee grabbed the staff coming towards his head and flung it and the person holding the other end behind him. He could hear the 'whump' as they hit the wall. The spandex-clad male quickly removed his weights, straightened up, and flung them at two acolytes. They made a rather satisfying crunch sound and both men fell to the ground. Lee's weights were heavy. Turning back to his daughter, Lee began ripping the chains off her wrists and ankles.

"Hana, when you get down, I want you to try and get Irihi and Aiji free. Think you can do that?" The girl nodded and Lee gently set her on the ground, giving her a quick hug.

"Stay safe. We'll hold them off." Hugging him tightly, Hana crawled off towards her friends. She went to Irihi first and pulled a hairpin from her hair.

"Let's hope this works." Inserting it into the lock on the shackles, the Hyuuga girl tried to pick it open. Lee, meanwhile, was trying to get rid of as many acolytes as he could. The children were sticking together to try and defend themselves. Gaara and Sasuke were tearing through them like a hot knife through butter. Kisame had gotten himself and Itachi free and they were fighting, not for the children, but because these guys had seriously pissed them off. Lee noticed three things while he was fighting: the first thing was, they went down really easily. Thing number two was, unfortunately, there were so damn many of them. Thing number three was even worse: they weren't human. What he meant by that was they were golems. This meant they were getting back up. He ended up back-to-back with Itachi somehow, fending off the stone creatures.

"This'll take forever unless we stop whoever's controlling these guys!" Itachi nodded and cut through another one.

"It's difficult for me to discern who's doing it. If we had the Byakugan, we _might_ be able to."

"Hana's just trying to get herself and the others out of here."

"I wasn't implying-" Itachi didn't have time to finish his sentence when another golem attacked. He cut through it and leapt over it to the next one, inadvertently aiding his brother. Lee winced as his arms and legs began to bruise from hitting rock so much.

_I will _not_ give up! My beautiful hime is counting on me and I will _not_ let him down!_ Shaking off the pain, Lee charged in again. These enemies were nothing more than objects in between him and Neji.

_They will fall!_ Unfortunately, Lee fell first. He tripped over the first man he had killed and landed flat on his face. One of the golems tripped over him, accidentally kicking him in the ribs before falling on top of him and squishing the air from his lungs. Lee gasped and tried to claw his way out from under the creature.

"Daddy!" Hana leapt up from her attempt to unlock the damn shackles on Irihi's ankles and ran over to her father, grabbing his hands and beginning to pull him out. Sharp rock dug painfully into Lee's back as he tried to push himself out. He looked up at his daughter and noticed an acolyte just behind her.

"Hana! Look-" The girl yelped as she was picked up from behind by the man. He wrapped his arms around her chest and gave an evil grin. Then he made a horrible mistake. He accidentally groped her. Hana let out a shriek and drove her heel into the man's crotch.

"YOU SICK PERVERT!" This disrupted Sasuke's Uchiha Wrath of Doom® and he fell onto the acolyte in front of him. Kakashi and Kisame managed to catch themselves. Itachi and Gaara stumbled and fell as well. The other kids froze, unsure what to do. The entire fight had come to a standstill for a few seconds until Hana turned around and began to beat up the man who had groped her.

"HOW DARE YOU GROPE ME! FOR THE LOVE OF THE HOKAGE, I'M ONLY THIRTEEN! YOU PERVERT! YOU PEDOPHILE! YOU SICK BASTARD!" Lee wasn't sure who recovered first. What he did know was that Irihi and Aiji broke through their shackles and happily aided Hana in her quest to murder the (somewhat) poor man, the acolytes began attacking the ninja, the ninja began attacking the acolytes, and the golems stood around looking dumb. Wrenching himself out from underneath the golem, he moved to help Hana when another acolyte attacked him. Hana, meanwhile, had finished flaying the man. She blinked at her friends in surprise, just now noticing their presence.

"Irihi…Aiji…" The redhead caught her eyes and the ice in them seemed to melt. Then her eyes froze again and she and Aiji turned to the acolytes. They both seemed to have the same idea on their minds. Blood. Hana tried to grab them before they could kill anyone, but she was about an inch too short. The two demons leapt into the fray, claws out and fangs bared in horrific snarls.

"No! Wait!" It was a bit too late unfortunately. Irihi grabbed someone around the neck and literally bit their head off. Blood flowed out of his neck, spilling over her front and staining her clothes with it. Aiji ripped someone in half and didn't even bother to wait for them to fall on their own, just pushing through them and smearing blood on his arms and sides. Gaara inhaled sharply as he saw his daughter and then moved quickly to her.

"Irihi, stop! Irihi!" The girl didn't listen and instead turned on him, claws outstretched. Gaara gasped and dodged her, trying to keep his sand from attacking her.

"Irihi, it's me!" She landed on the ground and dug her claws into the ground to stop from sliding. Then she turned and attacked someone else. Itachi and Sasuke tried to stop Aiji, working together to make up for the fact that neither could relate to what the boy was going through. Sasuke grabbed one arm while his brother grabbed the other.

"Aiji, calm down!"

"Let…me…GO!" The two Uchihas had no time to react before they were smashed together. Their heads cracked against each other and both fell to the ground, sporting rather painful headaches. Aiji and Irihi began tearing the acolytes trying to run away to shreds, literally. Lee dodged a flying hand and wiped the blood out of his eyes. He couldn't even see Kakashi anymore, nor the children, but they weren't among the torn remains. Then his eyes went to Hana. She looked horrified. Her eyes were wide and tears ran down her face and over her hands, which were clenched around her mouth to keep herself from screaming. Her whole body shook in fear and she probably didn't even notice the blood that stained her as well. Suddenly she dropped her hands and lurched forward.

"I LOVE YOU!" Both demons froze mid-killing spree and turned to face her slowly. The Hyuuga girl trembled and took a hesitant towards them.

"I-I love you…" Then she fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Sobs wracked her body and echoed around the silent room. Irihi and Aiji's eyes faded back to normal as they came to their senses. Irihi was the first of them to speak, her voice hoarse and cracked.

"H-Hana…" As one, they ran over to the girl and knelt beside her, both trying to comfort her. Irihi wiped some of the blood off her face and smiled weakly.

"W-we're okay now, see? W-we're all better." Hana looked up at them, tears streaming down her cheeks and eyes red and bloodshot.

"Y-you won't d-do that again?" Aiji shook his head.

"No. We promise." Wiping her eyes, the black-haired girl smiled a bit and took each of their hands.

"T-thank you." Before the warm moment could continue, a deep voice rang out through the room.

"No, thank you for stopping these demons. Now we can get on with the ceremony." Irihi and Aiji leapt up and stood protectively in front of Hana. Then Irihi winced and grabbed her head.

"Ow…" Itachi looked like he wanted to hit himself.

"_Now_ it wears off."

"What?!" Both children crumpled to the floor, out cold. Hana gasped a bit and knelt beside them, trying to wake them up.

"Irihi! Aiji! Are you all right? Say something!" The deep voice rang out again.

"They will not be up anytime soon. You are the only one we need awake, however." The acolytes began their aggressiveness again as if someone flipped the 'Attack Ninja' switch to on. A man in a black robe appeared near Hana, looming over her, and Lee could almost see his smile, even if they couldn't see into his hood.

"They may watch. Once we fuse the powers of these demons with the chosen one, we will-"

"Shut. Up." All eyes turned to Hana. She was standing now, kunai in hand. Her loose hair obscured her face, but everyone could see her body shaking with anger.

"You kidnapped me, you hurt Irihi and Aiji, you hurt my sensei, you hurt my friends, you hurt my daddy, and now you want to hurt them again." She lifted her head and her eyes blazed with anger and pride.

"But I won't let you. I'm through with being defended. It's time I protected them." The man chuckled and patted her head.

"Cute." Hana smacked his hand away and threw her kunai straight into his chest. No matter how cool an evil priest is, a knife in between the ribs will seriously cramp his style.

"Gah! You little bitch!" Without waiting, Hana kicked her knife further into his body and sent him flying back several feet. She didn't give him the chance to recover, coming at him again. This time, the Byakugan was clear in her eyes. Kisame glanced around, then began to shake the acolytes off of him. It's not that easy to hold onto an eight-foot tall man when you're about three feet and a hundred pounds smaller. The others followed his lead, beginning their own fight with the acolytes while Hana took care of the boss. Lee aimed to break legs and arms, maybe a few ribs. Hopefully, they could save some of these people for interrogation. Sasuke attempted such a thing as well. Gaara…did not. Lee twitched as he felt blood splatter on his head and then run down his neck.

"Gaara-san…" The redhead couldn't help but grin a bit.

"Sorry. Not the neatest of techniques."

"When you want it to be."

"True." There was a loud crack and Hana went flying over their heads, landing against the door and accidentally shoving it open a bit before falling to the ground. The man in the robe gave a loud, booming laugh.

"A little girl could _never_ defeat me! Ha!" The door suddenly opened the rest of the way and a powerful, dark chakra seeped into the whole room like black tendrils. A young girl's voice spoke, yet there were three other voices overlapping hers. One was snide and rather smug, another rugged and gravelly. The last one was deep and had a vibe of evil.

"Oh? Care to test that theory?" Lee looked to the door and felt his blood run cold.

_That's not…it couldn't be…she…_ Sasuke's voice, however, confirmed his thoughts.

"Oh my god…" It was Gina as she should never have had to look. She was a mixture of the Kyuubi, the Shukaku and herself, with Sasuke's curse seal swirling over her body. Her fangs were so big she couldn't completely close her lips over them. Her eyes ran over Hana's unconscious form, narrowing a bit in anger. She looked over the group, lingering on her fathers before spotting Irihi and Aiji. Her eyes widened, then narrowed and her aura turned even more bloodthirsty than before and she spoke in the four-part voice again.

"Who…who hurt them?" The man in the dark robe stepped forward, removing the kunai from his ribs.

"Another little girl. Fine. Kill her." Gina let out a low, hungry growl that kept the acolytes far away from her. She stepped towards the man, her chakra pushing anyone in her way out of her path until she reached the hooded man.

"You hurt my family…you will die." The man snorted.

"I'd like to see you try." Gina began hissing that began elevating into an angered growl. Kakashi tapped Lee's shoulder and gave him a one-eyed smile.

"Maa, we should grab the children and run away screaming like little girls."

"Uh…yeah." Gaara and Sasuke grabbed their children while Lee picked up Hana. Kisho and the others had already started sprinting away, Itachi and Kisame with them. They made it out of the temple just as Gina's roar literally shook the walls. The next sounds they heard were screams of the acolytes and rocks falling. Once they were several miles away, the group stopped and stared in awe as the temple carved into the mountain began to crumple. The pillars were the first to go, cracking under the stress and eventually just crashing down. That started a chain reaction that couldn't exactly be seen, but it was definitely heard. Some acolytes tried to escape and met certain death as an avalanche began, huge boulders rolling down the mountain. All the while, they could hear Gina taking her anger out on everyone she could get her hands on. After a few minutes, the whole front of the mountain completely caved in on itself. The falling mountain crushed anyone that tried to run out to death. Finally, when things had quieted down about ten minutes later, the group crept forward. Gaara and Sasuke looked crestfallen as they surveyed the rubble. Kakashi held the twins while the two fathers kicked over rocks. After a bit, Gaara finally spoke.

"She was…Naruto's special baby…" No one said anything. Even Itachi and Kisame looked guilty. That, or they had the decency to _look_ guilty. Irihi and Aiji woke up, both groggy and not quite sure what all had occurred.

"W-what's…going on?" Kakashi quietly explained it to them and Irihi leapt up, fists trembling.

"T-that can't be! G-Gina…s-she…s-she can't be dead! R-right Gaara-papa? R-right?" Gaara gave his daughter a saddened look and merely held her. Irihi didn't push away from his embrace, but shook her head.

"R-right? S-she's not dead…r-right? S-she can't be…" Gaara shook his head and kept his arms around her. The girl kept shaking her head, her body beginning to shiver.

"N-no…no…no…" She suddenly began to beat on his chest, angry tears streaming down her face.

"No! No it's not fair! It's not fair! It's just not fair! It's not it's not it's not!" The redhead suddenly began sobbing into his arms, unable to hold it back. Aiji wrapped his arms around his legs and curled into himself. Sasuke knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Aiji…" The boy's voice started to crack.

"It's…it's not fair…she was…she never did anything…never…" Lee looked down and saw Hana's face buried into his chest. She was trying her hardest not to cry. He brought her closer and wrapped his arms around her, not saying anything. There was nothing any of them could say or do. Itachi leaned against Kisame, eyes downcast. Ayame and Kane cried together, Mamoru and Takai just sat near each other and watched the ground silently while Kisho wiped away oncoming tears. Haru bit his lip and his eyes wandered over the rubble. Suddenly, he gasped and pointed off a bit.

"Look!" Everyone followed his finger and blinked in surprise as they saw a clearing in the rubble. As one, they moved forward and then froze, too dumbstruck to move or think. There, lying in the middle of a perfect, untouched circle, was Gina. She hadn't a scratch or a mark anywhere save for the tear in her shirt. Her face was peaceful, making her look like she was just asleep. No one said or did everything for a long time, then Irihi and Aiji moved closer. They knelt by their sister, neither touching her. Finally, Irihi reached a hand out. Just before it touched her, the young girl yawned, making everyone jump. Gina sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily, then blinked in surprise as she looked around.

"Huh? How'd I get here?" Her face brightened as she saw Irihi and Aiji.

"Nee-san! Nii-san!" Everyone gaped as the girl tightly hugged her older siblings, a happy carefree smile on her face. Once her siblings had been properly greeted in Gina's mind, she noticed everyone else.

"Gaara-papa! Sasuke-papa!" Standing, the girl ran over to them and tackled Sasuke's knees. Sasuke quickly picked up the girl and held her tightly.

"You have no idea how worried we were about you." Gina hugged him back and giggled slightly.

"Silly Sasuke-papa! You didn't have to worry! Nee-san and nii-san rescued me!" Irihi and Aiji leaned together and Irihi whispered to her twin.

"Didn't she save us?"

"I don't think she remembers."

"Is this…good?" The boy shrugged and they ran to their fathers to have a small family reunion. Kakashi smiled and straightened up.

"Well now. The only thing this needs is the Hokage, don't you think?" Gina brightened even more.

"Mama!"

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE **

Naruto chewed through yet another pencil. He was getting frantic for any bit of news. The others had yet to come back so he, Neji and Iruka had nothing. All three were doing something to relieve stress. Iruka was pacing, Neji was sewing, and Naruto was demolishing extra pencils. He suddenly stood, grabbed all the paper on his desk, and tore it to shreds.

"ARGH! If I don't get something soon I'm going to lose my MIND!"

"Didn't you lose that a while ago?" The three males turned to see Kakashi standing in the doorway, a nonchalant look on his face. Naruto grabbed him by the front of his jacket and dragged him down so they were eye-to-eye.

"You bastard Cyclops! You'd better tell me what's happened before I-"

"Mama!" Kakashi almost thrown to the floor as Naruto opened his arms to his baby girl.

"Gina!" The little blonde shrieked as she was swept up and spun around by her mother. Neji stood up, anxious to see who else was back.

_Please be Lee and Hana, please be Lee and Hana, please be-_

"Mother!" Relief flooded the Hyuuga's system as he saw Hana and Lee come in, the former running towards him with open arms. Wrapping his arms around his daughter, Neji felt his shoulders release all the tension he had been holding.

"You're both alright." Lee smiled at them and Neji held out one arm for him to occupy. The spandex-clad male stepped into the embrace and kissed Neji's forehead.

"Of course. I promised, didn't I?"

"Irihi! Aiji!" The small family turned to see Naruto embrace his other two children, along with his husbands. Kakashi held Iruka loosely about the waist, his one eye pulled into his trademark smile.

"So. I trust nothing bad happened while we were away."

"Well, we need new pencils and I have to replace the papers Naruto ripped up. But other than that, nothing bad happened at all. What about with you?" Lee suddenly winced and rubbed his back.

"My spine's been arranged in ways it was never supposed to be." Gina giggled and Naruto suddenly realized something.

"Gina, your hair!" The girl blinked in surprise and her hand went to her hair. Instead of going down to a few inches past her shoulders, her hair now hung around her chin and was much wavier than before. Gina seemed just as shocked as her mother.

"My hair got cut!" Naruto looked over at Gaara and Sasuke, who gave him a brief message via eye-talk. Smiling, the blonde male ruffled her hair affectionately.

"But you look cuter than ever." Gina giggled and reached up to ruffle Naruto's hair. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm so happy to be home mama!"

"I'm glad you're home too, angel." He lowered his voice as he turned to the rest of his family.

"I'm glad you're all home." They cuddled together again, Aiji a bit reluctantly. After a few seconds, Gina piped up.

"Mama, you should thank nee-san and nii-san! They saved me and brought me home!" Chuckling, Naruto smiled down at his two eldest children.

"Thank you for bringing your sister home." Irihi flashed the peace symbol while Aiji 'hned'. Gaara grinned and Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kakashi chuckled.

"Cut Aiji some slack Sasuke. You were just as bad when you were his age. Worse, actually." Sasuke glared at his old sensei briefly before turning back to his family.

"I think the kids should get some rest and get checked over." Gina pouted and tried to stifle a yawn.

"But I'm not tired!" Irihi tugged at her foot and smiled up at her baby sister.

"But Gina, then you can't play the Sleep Game®." Gina's eyes brightened as she looked down at Irihi.

"Sleep Game?" The redhead nodded sagely.

"That's right. You can only play the Sleep Game when you're tired."

"I'm tired!"

"Okay. Open your mouth a bit and yawn." Gina did as she was told and her eyes started to droop. Irihi did the same.

"Now do it again, only open your mouth wider." The blonde yawned again and Irihi yawned back. They kept this up until Gina fell asleep on Naruto's shoulder, snoozing quietly. Naruto smiled down at Irihi, who looked ready to fall asleep herself.

"Come on. We'll get you all checked up at the hospital." Aiji and Irihi nodded and the family slipped out, heading for the hospital. Hana yawned herself.

"I'm tired too." Neji smiled a bit and took her and Lee's hands.

"Then lets get you home and into bed. It's pretty late anyway. Good night Iruka-sensei. Kakashi-sensei." The two waved good-bye to them and Iruka began cleaning up scraps of paper. Kakashi suddenly stopped him and led him to the door.

"Iruka, that's why we have a janitorial staff."

"But-" Removing his mask, Kakashi kissed his dolphin on the lips.

"No buts. You're pregnant and I'm not going to have you stressing yourself out." Iruka smiled a bit and kissed Kakashi back.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. And now that I'm back, you're the only one I want to spend time with for a while."

"That's fine by me." Iruka flicked the lights off and they left together. Paperwork could be done later. Families were more important.

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Naruto watched his children sleep, barely hearing the faint beeps of the heart machines they were hooked up to. Sasuke and Gaara were talking to Tsunade about what had happened and Naruto had been instructed to stay with the children.

_Please let it be nothing bad._ The door opened quietly, but he didn't move until Sasuke placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto?"

"Will they be all right?" Sasuke took his hand and led him out. Once in the hall, Gaara took Naruto's other hand and the three prepared for the worst news. Tsunade looked at their faces and a part of her smiled as she remembered how they were as kids.

_They've really grown._ "From what Sasuke and Gaara told me, Gina has the abilities of the Kyuubi and the Shukaku, and a genetic mutation caused by the curse seal Sasuke got from Orochimaru." Naruto squeezed Sasuke and Gaara's hands, his chest beginning to tighten. He stayed silent and let Tsunade continue.

"She was close to death at one point and that caused a chain reaction, releasing all of her powers all at once. That's what the others saw in the temple. When it collapsed, her powers shielded her from the avalanche and that's how she survived. However. I've looked her over and I can say this; with a bit of practice, she might be able to call on a portion of these powers one at time. Might. But she must never use all of them at once again. It would undoubtedly kill her." Naruto's eyes flooded with worry and Tsunade pressed on.

"The stress on her body would shut everything down at once, including her brain. She may feel the stress from this experience for many years to come. Headaches, migraines, muscle cramps, bone pains, nerve hypersensitivity, heart attacks, problems with her immunity system, and blood clots are just a few of the things that could happen. However, there's a way to ensure it doesn't happen." Now all three had looks of worry on their faces, but they were still listening.

"I can prescribe medication for her and that's what she's getting now through the IV drip. Also, her memory gap is completely normal. She's never going to remember this incident and if you ask me, that's a good thing. Now, as for Irihi and Aiji, whatever Itachi gave them, it's completely out of their system." Relief replaced the worry on all three and Sasuke spoke up.

"No long lasting effects?"

"Nope. The drug was a just a way to bring out their demons. It was meant to be burned through eventually. They're perfectly fine. They're definitely going to be sore from all this, but that's it." Naruto sighed in relief and smiled.

"So they'll all be alright?"

"Yup. I'll get you Gina's medication."

"How long does she need to take it?"

"One pill a day for a year."

"That's…that's it?" Tsunade grinned.

"Ain't medicine wonderful?" All three nodded. Naruto spoke up again, his voice a bit quieter.

"Can…can we take them home?"

"Of course. Let me take out everything and you can take them home. Bring Gina here once a month so I can check on her progress. In a year, she ought to be fine." Now Naruto looked completely relieved. Tsunade removed the machinery from the children, gave Naruto the medicine and sent them home. They were out as soon as they could be. Naruto smiled at the sleeping blonde in his arms.

_I have my family back._

**I AM A LINE PLEASE IGNORE ME BECAUSE I AM NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE**

Neji cuddled up to Lee, inhaling his scent. Both of them had been up almost all night, eager to be together once again. Hana had gone to sleep in her own bed after making them promise they were all hers during the day. It hadn't taken more than a second for them to promise. Lee smiled at his beloved and let his hand rub circles over Neji's belly. The Hyuuga boy smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Which do you think it is this time? A boy or a girl?" Smiling even more, Lee nuzzled him.

"I don't care. I'll love them just the same."

"Mm…I'm not tired enough to go to sleep."

"Me neither."

"What should we name it if it's another girl?"

"Hm…Akina."

"And if it's a boy?"

"You choose." Neji fell silent as he thought for a bit. Lee continued to rub circles on his belly. It tickled a bit, yet felt nice at the same time.

"Mm…Hoshi." The black-haired male turned it over in his mind, then kissed Neji's forehead.

"Perfect." The brunette smiled and wrapped his arms around Lee's neck, burying himself into his beloved.

"I missed you so much, Lee. With both you an Hana gone…" Lee wrapped his arms around Neji, pulling him as close as he could. He never wanted to let him go again. He never wanted to let any of his family go.

"I missed you too, my beautiful hime."

Three years later… 

((Yeah, time-skipping goodness, huh?))

Hana, smiled as she watched Irihi walk across the field on her hands. The redhead grinned at the picnickers and stood on one hand to wave to Hana.

"Hi Hana! Hi Hoshi!" The Hyuuga girl smiled down at her three-year-old brother, Hoshi. He blinked his big lavender eyes, then smiled and waved to Irihi.

"Nee-san!" Gina giggled a bit.

"He already knows who his big sister is!" The two girls laughed together and Irihi hand-walked over.

"Oi, what's so funny?" This only made Hana laugh harder. Hoshi raised his arms to Irihi.

"Nee-san! Nee-san!" Irihi grinned and flopped down so she was on her hands and knees.

"You wanna go for a ride, otouto-chan?" The boy nodded vigorously and Irihi picked him up, putting him on her shoulders before standing and running off.

"Bwa-ha-ha! Fear the terrifying duo of Irihi and Hoshi!" She said this in a pretend booming voice, holding Hoshi's hands in hers and lifting them up.

"Rar!" Hoshi giggled and followed suit.

"Rar!"

"Rar!"

"Rar!" Aiji rolled his eyes.

"Children." Neji watched them and smiled.

"Children are wonderful things." Hana looked over at her teammate and gave him a teasing smile.

"That's why I want lots of children." The Sasuke-look-alike blushed slightly and looked up into the trees and scowled.

"Takai, don't you have anything better to do?" The dog boy grinned and hopped down, Tsume clinging to his head. Kiyoshi hopped down as well and Gina leapt up, running over to him.

"Kiyoshi-chan!" The boy blushed as Gina glomped him in a huge hug.

"Now I have someone fun to talk to!" Takai pretended to look hurt.

"Oh, my heart! Rejected so subtly by a pretty lady!" Gina giggled at his antics. From the shade of a rather large willow tree, Naruto smiled contentedly, a two-year-old boy sitting in his lap.

"Life is as it should be." Sasuke cracked an eye open and gave a 'hn'. Gaara grinned a bit.

"I think so. Right Yukio?" The small boy nodded, eyes watching everyone. Yasuo was only two, but he was already showing signs of becoming a brilliant genius. Naruto blamed Shikamaru and Kisho. Speaking of which, the blonde grinned as the rest of the old group came. Ino and Sakura came up, each holding a basket. Kane was a bit behind them, chatting with Ayame. Shikamaru, Kisho and Chouji were just behind them and Naruto chuckled. Chouji had gone against his family history and had lost a lot of weight. Of course, he had replaced a good lot of it with muscle. Next to them were Kiba, Shino, Tenten, Temari and Hinata, the latter of whom had a new baby girl. Kankurou was just behind them, face clear of paint and Kazekage outfit noticeably gone. Behind Kankurou were Iruka and Kakashi, each holding one of their twins. Kakashi held Toyo, whom was already beginning to act like his father (scarily enough) while Iruka held Yasuo, whom was clearly taking after his mother. Everyone spread out across the grass and the children (or younger ones) ran off to play. Iruka and Kakashi sat next to Naruto, Sasuke and Gaara and Naruto began chatting happily with his old teacher.

"I swear, Toyo gets into as much trouble as Kakashi. It's going to be murder when he gets older." Naruto chuckled.

"I know. I almost keep calling Aiji Sasuke constantly."

"They are very similar."

"It's a little scary sometimes, actually." The two continued their conversation, Kakashi, Sasuke and Gaara adding their thoughts in every so often. Neji smiled as he heard them talking and leaned against Lee, whom put his arm around his shoulders. He watched Irihi pretend to fight Takai for Hana's love, then swept the Hyuuga girl into a quick kiss that sent them both falling into the grass giggling. Aiji moved from his protected spot to call them idiots and all the girls promptly tackled him. It quickly melted into a boy vs. girl game type thing with the girls ending up winning. Neji chuckled as Irihi struck a pose and declared her undying love for Hana and how girls rule boys drool.

"Lee?"

"Hm?"

"I don't think I could be any happier right now." The male grinned and kissed Neji on the lips.

"Me neither, Neji. Me neither."

THE END 

Guys, this is the last chapter. I'm not writing any more to this story. Maybe I will later, but not right now. I hope you all like this. If not…bugger.

Oh, forgot to add this. Itachi and Kisame were just kind of let go to do...whatever (make babies! sorry, couldn't help it) they wanted to since even though they'd taken the SasuNaruGaa kids in the first place, they helped get them back. Sasuke decided to screw revenge.

**Dark-Princess-Hikari:** I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you liked this one as well. Happy Easter or whatever holiday is closest.

**Yersi Fanel:** The OC's are dead, all of them. I squished them flat, so no need to worry about them. Woot! Also, I would like to say my titles have cheats. What I essentially did was I found an English to Japanese translator and type in each word of the title individually and then typed them in here. Most of the words aren't exact at all, or are pretty close. Hope you liked this chapter too.


End file.
